


Metamorphoses of Elsanna

by TheQueenOfWinter



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: F/F, Greek Myths, Lesbian Sex, Literary References & Allusions, Metamorphoses, Modified Greek Myths, One Shot Collection, Ovid, PWP, Sibling Incest, Sister/Sister Incest, Underage sexual exploration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-21
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-04-05 13:02:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 21
Words: 215,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4180833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheQueenOfWinter/pseuds/TheQueenOfWinter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oneshots inspired by stories of seduction and transformation in Greek Myths and Ovid. Elsanna. All AUs. Incest only in chapters 1, 5 and 19. Mostly PWP.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Byblis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS FOR INCEST AND UNDERAGE INCEST, ALL CONSENSUAL. THE UNDERAGE PARTS ARE IN ITALICS SO YOU MAY SKIP IF YOU WISH.
> 
> IF THIS BOTHERS YOU THEN LEAVE NOW!
> 
> (AU. No powers.)

The King and Queen of Arendelle had two daughters, each one a beautiful Princess, the apple of her parents' eyes and the pride of the kingdom. A sister.

Anna hated that word.

She never saw her older sister Elsa apart from on formal occasions. Whenever they met, Elsa wouldn't look at her, never touched her and spoke laconically, addressing her stiffly as "sister."

Whenever she knew she was going to see Elsa, Anna made sure she looked her most beautiful, wore dresses that flattered her figure and showed her freckled skin. She hoped it would convince Elsa to change, to look at her.

Anna longed for Elsa to call her by her name, to touch her skin... like she used to.

Because Anna loved her not as a sister ought to.

At first, in childhood, she understood nothing of the flame that burned within her and did not think she was doing wrong by giving Elsa kisses so often, and throwing her arms around the neck of her sister, holding her close. To them, it was simply natural affection.

Of course, now Anna knew it was considered wrong. But how could something that had felt so natural, intrinsic to her, be anything other than right? Even when their affection had started to... progress...

In truth, Anna had felt only half alive since Elsa shut her out.

But she had memories to keep her going. Memories of before it had become like this that she had dwelt upon through nearly a decade of separation.

_It all started eight years ago when Anna was ten and Elsa thirteen, although Anna knew it had truly started on the day she was born, brought into the world as a companion for her sister._

_The girls were sharing their bath, as they had always done. Once they finished their water fights and all the bubbles had dispersed, Anna looked down at her sister, noticing something different._

_"Your chest has grown," Anna observed, curious, looking closer at the rounded contours of her sister's torso._

_Elsa shifted shyly under Anna's gaze, she had hoped her sister wouldn't notice. She was growing up. She wanted to stay the same as Anna, didn't want anything to ever separate them._

_"Can I touch them?" Anna asked, inquisitively._

_Elsa nodded, she didn't think it would do any harm, and Anna brought her hands up to feel the soft, sensitive flesh of her newly-formed breasts._

_Elsa's body felt soft and pleasant beneath her palms, and Anna compared it with her own flat, childish form. With one hand, she guided Elsa's hand to her own chest, longing to be close, to be the same as her._

_The two girls sat with the steam of the bath rising around them, feeling the heat of their hands on each other's bare skin, remaining like that just for a moment._

_Only a moment, but a moment can have consequences that last a lifetime._

Anna had not been able to appreciate the preciousness of that moment when it was happening, of course. Now, when she relived that brief occasion to herself in her own maturity, she awoke feelings she had never even dreamed of back then.

Memories of that touch reminded Anna that she was alive all these years later, as she tried to recreate her sister's touch with her own hands, substitute her own body for Elsa's...

From then onwards, Anna had watched Elsa blossom into womanhood. She watched Elsa's body fill out. She developed full breasts and elegant, curving hips, separated by her slender waist.

Whenever she saw her sister's naked form, Anna thought she looked as beautiful as the statues of the goddess of winter.

They sang hymns to the goddess in the temple of the Divines, hymns that called her "tower of ivory" and "house of gold." Anna had wondered how they could compare a beautiful woman to those precious materials.

But then she had thought of Elsa's white hands, the times when she placed them over Anna's eyes when they were playing. Elsa's hands were white and cold like ivory, only soft. And when Anna would kiss her neck, her sister's skin there was pale enough for her to see the veins.

And then Anna had thought of when she and Elsa ran together, chasing each other. Elsa ran ahead of her, laughing, with her fair hair streaming out behind her like gold in the sun. And the way Elsa's blonde hair would drape over her when she lay in her sister's lap, creating a world consisting entirely of the two of them...

Elsa was her "tower of ivory" and her "house of gold." Anna saw the goddesses in Elsa and worshipped her.

But she felt separated as she lingered in girlhood. Anna was skinny; no curves, no breasts, not soft and yielding like her sister.

Yet to Elsa, Anna was as lithe and beautiful as the quick-witted young goddess of the hunt. Anna was warm, so  _alive_ , untamed. Her freckles were like shivelight in the woods on summer days. And she was precious like copper and cinnamon and amber.

Months went by and Elsa continued quickly and inexorably into maturity. She grew hair. She felt the stirring of feelings she couldn't control, which wasn't helped by Anna.

_Anna's curiosity got the better of her again one night when she and Elsa were in the middle of undressing, sitting naked on the bed together._

_Anna stared at Elsa's reflection in the mirror beside their bed, stared at her sister's body that was now so different from her own, stared at her breasts, her hips, the patch of light golden hair between her legs..._

_Anna decided to ask something that had been on her mind for a while._

_"Elsa, your hair..."_

_"What about it?" Elsa replied, gathering the loose blonde tresses over her shoulder, stroking them._

_"No, your other hair..." Anna said, shifting closer towards her on the bed._

_"Oh..." Elsa felt strange talking about it. "It's normal," she explained, remembering what her mother had told her. "Soon you'll have it, too." She watched Anna's eyes move from her own, to between her legs, and back again._

_"What's it like?" Anna asked._

_Elsa could see her younger sister's curiosity and thought she should know. Elsa had been surprised and a little scared herself when the hair had grown._

_"You can look closer, touch it if you want to," she said, lying back on the bed._

_Anna accepted her invitation and came closer, leaning over her sister. She put her hand out and gently stroked down the length of her sister's new patch of hair. As she brought her hand down, her longest finger brushed something warm and wet. Elsa gasped and tensed under her._

_Anna withdrew her hand. "Did I hurt you?" she asked, looking up to make sure her sister was all right._

_"No," Elsa replied, her eyes wide. "It felt good..."_

_Anna, glad that she could make Elsa feel good, leaned closer, exploring between her sister's legs. She parted her nether lips and peeked at the glistening pink flesh within, then dipped her finger into her sister's folds, feeling the heat and the dampness of her. She heard Elsa's sharp intake of breath and withdrew her fingers, returning her gaze to her sister's face._

_Anna had satisfied her curiosity, and neither girl knew what to do beyond that, but, if they had been given the time, they would surely have discovered. Unfortunately, that was not meant to be._

Prompted by her own curiosity the next day, Elsa asked her mother about her body and why it had changed, why it felt good to be touched.

Her mother gave her a book, which Elsa began to read at once. It taught her about her anatomy, the function and purpose of each part. She learned about her feelings and how they were to be controlled in marriage.

Yet Elsa found the book lacking. It did not explain why she only felt heat rise to her face, and down between her thighs when she looked at the pictures of women. And it said nothing about sisters.

She returned the book to her mother and attempted to get an answer to her questions, but she was embarrassed and used the phrasing from the book.

"Can a woman only be intimate with a man?" Elsa asked her mother. She found the idea of that highly unappealing and hoped she'd answer no.

"Yes," her mother replied. "Anything else is against the laws of nature, of the Divines, of this land. Anyone who goes against those laws will be punished."

And Elsa's dreams were shattered. If she couldn't be that close to a woman, she couldn't be as close to her sister as she desired.

Anna felt like more than a sister to Elsa. Anna was her life, a part of her. Being close to Anna felt natural, even if others would think it wrong. The only person Elsa wanted to be intimate with was her own sister.

But there were laws against it. Elsa feared punishment for both herself and Anna. She feared punishment from the Divines, who knew everything, and from her parents. They did not question why Elsa suddenly isolated herself, demanding her own room immediately in an effort to prevent any law-breaking before it began.

From the age of thirteen, Elsa continued to grow, and as she grew, so did her desire for Anna.

Elsa prayed for the Divines to take away her feelings. She concluded that she and Anna were not supposed to be sisters, that the Divines must have made a mistake.

She prayed for the forbidden flame of desire to be expelled from her heart, or if the Divines could not do that, for them to take away her life. But even then Elsa had the hope that after she had perished, she would be laid out on her bed and that her sister would give her kisses as she lay, and drop her precious tears on her face...

But the Divines did not listen, so Elsa hid. She confined her passions to the nocturnal privacy of her bedchamber and concealed her love behind an icy demeanour, only seeing Anna when necessary, only calling her "sister" to remind herself of the barrier preventing her love from being anything more.

So it had been for years. And during those years, Anna grew, too. She came to learn the same things as Elsa, grew to desire her sister with the same desire.

But the rules did not bother Anna. As far as she saw it, the Divines would not have given her these feelings if she was not supposed to act on them. And she tried her best to do just that.

Anna never gave up trying to see Elsa. She waited outside her sister's locked door every day. She counted down the days to the next occasion when they would meet, hoping each time that Elsa would look at her the way she used to. Yet she never did.

* * *

But things were going to change today.

Elsa and Anna's parents died three years ago. Elsa, of course, saw this as punishment for her still un-enacted crimes and accepted her duty of taking her father's place as ruler of the land.

Now she was Queen, Elsa was forced to see Anna at the coronation party. She stood next to her sister, closer to her than she had been since their girlhood. Elsa stole a fleeting glance at her, her eyes taking in Anna's figure, her sad expression...

Elsa had an impulse to make Anna happy, to apologise for ignoring her these past eight years when she should have been there to support her, as was a sister's duty.

Elsa wanted to say "you look beautiful," but that was not something sisters were supposed to say to each other, so she just greeted Anna formally instead, never using her name, calling her "sister" to try and distract herself from the desire to uncover Anna, to touch her, to taste her, to penetrate her...

She knew that when the party was over they could go back to leading their separate lives and she could go back to keeping Anna safe from her own corruption.

Anna seemed as if she was intent on pursuing what everyone would consider normal, acceptable behaviour for a Princess. After finding that her sister was unwilling to even talk to her, Anna threw herself at the nearest man. She spoke with him, laughed with him, danced with him, pressed herself against him, frequently glancing at Elsa to look for a reaction.

Elsa watched them silently, ignoring the guests around her trying to engage the new Queen in conversation. Elsa watched them and wished him dead.

She had never even contemplated marriage for herself, not being inclined towards men, and had not considered that Anna would look for love from anyone other than her, not after all those years loyally waiting outside Elsa's door...

Elsa felt all of her desires stir and awaken within her, stronger, their need taking hold of her.

No one else had the right to be with Elsa's beautiful sister if she didn't. Anyone else would hurt her, wouldn't understand her, wouldn't have that connection between them that Elsa still felt now, that had been with her since the day Anna was born.

And nobody was there to tell Elsa what to do now, not now their parents were gone. As Queen, Elsa made the rules of this land. No one could hold her back from her sister now but the Divines... She was ready to tell Anna, to claim Anna's love for her own at last and maybe have her feelings returned...

And Elsa would rather the Divines punished her with death than suffer the torment of living with what Anna said to her after she saw her approach, her arm linked with that insufferable man's.

"Elsa, I would like your blessing of my marriage!" Anna said it with a sickeningly sweet smile at the man at her side, before looking at her sister.

In that split second of eye contact between them, Elsa felt a jolt of something stronger than love or any other emotion she had experienced, and she  _needed_  to tell Anna the truth before it destroyed her. She looked away.

"May I talk to you, please? Alone," Elsa asked.

"No," Anna replied, frustrated. "You had so many chances for that, Elsa, but now it's my turn to - "

"Fine," Elsa cut in, deciding to pull rank on Anna as her Queen and her sister. Besides, it was for Anna's own good to prevent her marrying a man she just met. "As long as I am Queen," she said, "you will never marry him, or any other man."

"What? Elsa, no! I don't understand! I can't live like this anymore!" Anna pleaded, desperately and loudly, reaching out for Elsa's hand.

Elsa felt her emotions rising as she avoided her sister's touch, felt everyone in the hall looking at them. It was too much.

"Enough!" Elsa shouted. "Everyone except my sister is to leave this room, immediately!"

It was still the afternoon and the party had barely begun, but everyone obeyed the Queen. Anna obeyed, dropping the arm of her erstwhile fiancé. There was power in Elsa's voice and Anna felt it. She wondered if now she would be able to find out the truth about Elsa's isolation, and to tell her own truth about the feelings she had not had the chance to express.

The door closed, leaving the sisters alone. As soon as it did, Anna let go of her pent-up tears and frustrations.

"What did I ever do to you but love you? Elsa, why? Why do you shut me out?"

"Because of you," Elsa began. "I have endured more hardships than you would ever believe a sister could endure. They started when we were children. We were too close. We did things that no sisters should do with each other. So, when I learned the truth of my... feelings towards you and the corruption that dwells within me, I had to lock myself away. I never look at you or touch you because when I do, I desire to be close to you. As close as when we were children,  _closer_. I have done everything, as the Divines are my witnesses, to cure myself, to prevent us breaking the laws. I wanted to protect you, wanted to save you from me. But I can't let you go to someone else. If you have any love for me, now that you know the truth, you will respect my wishes and never marry."

It was not what Anna was expecting to hear, yet part of her always knew, deep down, that Elsa wanted her as much as she wanted Elsa.

"That man means nothing to me," Anna explained. "Everyone in the whole world means nothing to me if I can be with you again, Elsa! We're connected, we always have been. And now we're both older, and we're together again, we should be united in an even closer bond." She looked at her sister, slowly taking a step towards her.

"Laws don't apply," Anna continued. "You're Queen now, make new laws! And if you want what I want, neither laws nor fears can stop us. Under the name of sisters we can hide our secret. And as Princess, I have the freedom to meet with you in private. Even in front of others we could embrace, and kiss," Anna's eyes lingered on Elsa's lips. "No one would ever guess. We can be together again, like how we used to be, only even closer. That's the only thing I want. You alone can save me or destroy me, choose which you want to do. Because I can't live without you again, Elsa."

Elsa was moved by her words, comforted that Anna shared her thoughts, and her desires. She could not believe she had the chance to do what she had wanted for so long, and Anna was willing, too!

For the first time in forever, Elsa looked at Anna, touched Anna. And to Anna's delight, she didn't stop.

Elsa brought her eyes to Anna's face, took in her features, her freckles, her ripe mouth. She looked down, her eyes caressing her sister's curves, her freckled arms. Elsa reached out and took Anna by the hand, sighing as they touched and she felt the softness and warmth of Anna's bare skin against hers. So  _right_ _..._

Then together they ran, Elsa leading the way to the bedroom they had once shared. She locked the door behind them and gave in to the inevitable.

Elsa let go of her sister's hand to pull the buttons off her own high-necked, constricting gown. She peeled it off her body, stepped out of it and left it crumpled on the floor.

Anna was desperate to touch her, to confirm that her wildest fantasy was indeed coming true. She was too stunned to remove her own clothes as she beheld the vision of beauty in front of her. Elsa's unclothed body was even more heavenly than she remembered.

Elsa plucked off her crown and threw it aside, joining her discarded dress. She tossed her head and her tightly bound hair came loose, cascading over one shoulder in a thick, wavy braid. She shook it out until her light-gold tresses flowed down her naked back. Elsa felt free.

She took Anna's face in her hands and brought their lips together, fusing her mouth with Anna's, hearing her sister whimper as she lightly probed her tongue into her mouth.

Elsa broke the kiss and caught her breath, then took hold of Anna's dress by the off-the-shoulder straps, pulling it down while Anna fumbled to undo the tight bodice and discard her underwear.

When the clothes were out of the way, Elsa marvelled at how her sister had grown. Anna had a woman's body now, matching her own.

"You look beautiful," Elsa told her, and Anna could see the yearning in her eyes.

Elsa leaned in, the warm, soft flesh of their breasts pressing together, and kissed the freckles on Anna's cheeks, moving down, kissing her way to her freckled shoulders. She remained there, licking and nibbling at her sister's neck, tracing Anna's spine with her fingers for a few sweet moments.

Anna's breath came in ragged pants; she had imagined Elsa's touch on many occasions, but nothing her mind had conjured could compare with how good it really felt, and it was about to get better.

Elsa cupped Anna's breasts, feeling the nipples harden under her palms. The sensation, along with the whimper from her sister's lips, made her wet and Elsa removed her hands from Anna's firm bosom to tug off her own, now damp, underwear.

Both sisters stood naked together.

Anna moved her hands from where they had rested at Elsa's hips to touch her sister's fuller breasts, and softly squeezed the yielding flesh. She heard her sister's breathing quicken and lifted her eyes to meet Elsa's, seeing a look in them more enticing than anything she had ever dreamed.

Elsa pulled her closer, crashing their mouths together again, hungrily entwining their tongues as Anna moved her hands up to run her fingers through her sister's hair. Then Elsa moved forwards, guiding Anna until the backs of her legs met with the bed, and she was sitting astride her sister.

Anna lay back on the bed, moaning with pleasure as she felt Elsa's hands and mouth exploring her body.

Elsa trailed kisses along her sister's waist, hips and thighs, feeling the softness of her curves, until finally she settled on the coppery curls between Anna's legs. As she kissed the short, curling hair and breathed in the sweet scent of her sister, she felt Anna's hands in her own hair, guiding her, encouraging her to continue.

She parted the curls delicately with her fingers and enjoyed her first sight of the moist pink flesh of her sister's most intimate area. Elsa felt Anna tense beneath her when she brought her mouth closer, feeling her sister's heat against her lips as she kissed her cunt.

Elsa kissed it again, relishing Anna's moans of pleasure in her ears as she dipped her tongue inside, tasting the tang of her sister as she ran her tongue along the length of her slit.

Anna gasped as she felt the pressure building inside her already, but before it got too intense, she sat up, taking Elsa's face in her hands. She leaned in and kissed her sister deeply, stroking Elsa's skilful tongue with her own, tasting herself in her sister's mouth.

She stopped to catch her breath, a string of saliva and her own juices connecting them when their mouths parted, then Anna leaned down, manoeuvring herself, as her sister returned to pleasuring her, to reach that secret place between Elsa's legs. And she found it just as beautiful as she remembered.

Anna slowly brought her lips up to kiss the golden curls of her sister's sex, feeling the wetness, the heat and the scent of her.

Elsa tasted just as heavenly as she looked and Anna did her best to mirror her sister's movements, unable to stop herself thrusting up against Elsa's tongue.

Anna felt Elsa moaning into her as she buried her tongue in her folds, and Anna moaned into her in return as she began to press her own tongue against the sensitive bud near the end of her sister's slit.

Elsa could no longer control her cries thanks to Anna's ministrations, and removed her tongue from her sister's crotch, gasping for breath while she replaced it with one of her elegant fingers, sliding it, and then a second, into Anna's slick centre, stroking her insides.

Practising on herself all those years had given Elsa a good idea of what would please her sister, and she pressed her fingers inside her until Anna let out a loud, keening moan when Elsa found her pleasure point, in the same position as her own. Elsa worked at it, stroking it harder while Anna continued to coax cries from her with her tongue.

The rest of the world disappeared as the two sisters brought each other towards their ultimate pleasure, better than anything they had ever done by themselves, far beyond anything that they were aware of when they had been close as children. Their free hands found each other, and both sisters clung to the other's wrist as they reached their peak.

Elsa felt Anna's inner walls clench around her fingers and called her sister's name repeatedly as Anna pushed her over the edge with a final flick of her tongue. Anna called Elsa's name in a long, loud cry and fell back onto the bed in sheer ecstasy as her sister collapsed on top of her, feeling her body shudder as she recovered from her climax.

But neither of them were willing to end their newfound connection just yet.

Elsa climbed off her sister and let go of her hand, their palms still wet with sweat. She turned around until she was lying next to Anna. Elsa leaned over her and tenderly stroked Anna's hair from her sweat-dampened forehead.

"Anna..." she said, softly, looking into her eyes.

"Elsa..." Anna whispered in return. She laid her hand on top of Elsa's before her sister removed it.

Elsa guided her younger sister until they were both sitting, then she came closer and positioned her legs until they brought their womanhoods together, still tender and tingling from their exertions minutes ago.

Both sisters whimpered as they connected and felt the pleasure stir within them again. They fitted together perfectly, two halves of a whole, and soon found a rhythm, thrusting and grinding against each other, writhing in rapture.

Their juices mingled together and overflowed onto the bed beneath them as their cries mingled in the air.

Anna watched her sister's breasts bounce with each movement and leaned down to touch them, taking a nipple into her mouth and sucking hard, loving the way Elsa moaned in reaction.

Elsa reached out for Anna's breasts and squeezed hers in return.

This was enough to bring both of them over the edge and into the gulf of pleasure again. The sisters collapsed together and lay in each other's arms, soothed by the other's breath and heartbeat, so close.

They lay together in bliss, united and closer than they had ever been at last, until the room suddenly darkened.

Clouds obscured the sun outside, blocking out the bright daylight. Thunder rumbled overhead.

Elsa thought her worst fears had come true and she and Anna were about to face punishment for their crimes of unnatural love. But she was thankful that she had at least tasted the true pleasure of their love and been united with her sister before the end. She held Anna close and waited.

But no punishment came.

In that moment, the Divines elevated the sisters from their world, where no one would understand their love. The powers that be never made mistakes and, Anna had indeed been correct, never gave feelings unless they should be acted upon.

The suffering the sisters had experienced throughout their lives was necessary for them to see the truth of their love.

The Divines, in celebration of their True Love, the strongest power of all, ordained for Elsa and Anna's souls to be bound together for eternity, so they would live millions of different lifetimes in millions of different universes; stronger than anything, beautiful, inseparable, unstoppable.


	2. Leda

Anna had never known a swan to watch her so closely. She saw the birds every morning when she went to bathe in the deserted fjord, but she had never seen that one before.

She - Anna could tell from the beak - was an impressive specimen, truly a Queen among swans; large, graceful, bold. She swam closer to Anna than the other birds and seemed to look right at her.

Anna felt the swan's eyes on her as she rose naked from the water and waded through the shallows to the shore. She wrung out her wet red hair and let the water run off her body, looking back at the swan before turning to leave and paying the bird no more thought.

When Anna returned the next morning, the swan was there again, watching her as she peeled off her clothes and washed herself.

Once she was clean, Anna noticed the bird seemed to approach her as it left the company of its fellows, and had an idea. She swam back to the shore and retrieved some bread she happened to be carrying in a pocket of her clothes.

The swan had followed her and Anna turned, holding the bread in her hand. She hesitated; they said that as well as being beautiful, swans were also powerful and dangerous, and could break a man's arm with a beat of a wing.

But Anna felt that this swan would not hurt her, and cautiously held the bread out, offering it to the bird. The swan accepted it and brought her stiff beak hungrily but gently to Anna's palm.

Entranced by the creature's beauty this close, Anna reached out her hand and stroked the soft feathers, finding the swan to be remarkably tame. The bird lifted her long neck out to Anna, brushing against her naked skin. Anna felt her flesh tingle under the gentle touch, and shuddered. She left the swan, feeling its eyes on her again as she got out of the water, and glanced back to see it staring after her before she took up her clothes and entered the forest, walking towards her home.

On the third morning, Anna found the fjord deserted with no swans at all gracing its surface with their presence. Her heart sank, somewhat saddened that she had no company as she bathed this morning.

She paused a moment before stripping off her clothes and diving into waters deeper than those she usually bathed in.

Anna swam under the surface, feeling utterly free as the water surrounded her naked body and her long hair floated around her, brushing against her back as she swam. She opened her eyes to view the blurred underwater world of the fjord, a sight not many got to see.

She kicked her legs, pushing against the fjord's floor, swimming back towards the shallows, and raced to the surface. Anna came up for air, catching her breath as she stood and let the water cascade off her. An impulse told her to turn around.

A naked woman stood, up to her slender waist in the water, watching Anna.

Anna thought she had strayed into a dream when she laid eyes on that vision of loveliness. The woman's perfect body was in shades of white and gold, her long wet hair clinging to her pale skin, which was punctuated by her pink nipples. Anna had never seen anyone so beautiful.

Unbeknownst to Anna, she was in the presence of Elsa, a divine shape-shifter of the heavens who had chosen her to be her consort. The goddess had assumed the form that she felt most suited her, the form that was meant for Anna. She took a step closer.

Anna was speechless and felt her heart speed up as the stranger approached, looking at her with intensely blue eyes, desire visible beneath her blonde lashes.

Elsa waded towards her with divine grace and Anna reached out instinctively as she approached. When they touched, Anna felt like she had been rejoined with a part of herself she never realised was missing.

Anna sighed as their mouths met in a tender kiss. The woman's soft lips were gentle against hers, but Anna could feel her desire as she pressed her perfect naked body against Anna's. Anna felt her own desire quicken and stir within her and she deepened the kiss, opening her mouth to the other woman's.

Elsa guided her towards the shore, lifting her up onto the bank of the fjord when they reached it, and climbed out herself.

Anna opened her eyes when she broke the kiss and watched the divinely beautiful woman leave the fjord, seeing the water dripping from the golden hair between her legs.

Then she reclined as Elsa leaned over her and pressed a toned leg between hers, before capturing her lips with her own and muffling Anna's cry of pleasure.

Their damp flesh pressed together as Elsa ran her hands through Anna's wet hair, hungrily kissing her, moving downwards.

Elsa kissed her chin, her throat and the freckled skin at the top of each breast. She brought her hands to Anna's nipples, feeling her breath hitch when she gently pinched them. She slowly licked the erect tip of one of them before continuing down Anna's now tense and aroused body and settling between her legs.

Elsa started slowly, licking gently up Anna's slit and parting the lips with her fingers to ease her access.

Anna almost felt herself come apart immediately when Elsa's teeth briefly grazed the hardened little nub of pleasure within her folds. She looked down and her lover's vivid blue eyes looked up at Anna to gauge her reactions as she continued to discover the best way to please her. Anna couldn't tell whether it was her look or her actions turning her on more.

Anna threw her head back and moaned as Elsa returned to suckle on her sensitive spot, knowing it would not be long until she brought her to her peak.

Elsa reached up to caress Anna's hands that rested on her shoulders, fingers digging into the flawless white flesh.

Anna's grip loosened and she shuddered in ecstasy when her heavenly lover's lips and tongue took her over the edge and into that place of pure bliss.

Elsa sat up and supported Anna's limp and quivering body, holding her tightly. Anna embraced her, resting her head on her lover's shoulder as she felt the other woman's hand wander.

Elsa cupped Anna's sex in her hand, finding it hot and moist, and slid a finger inside.

Anna gasped, surprised and elated to feel her lover stirring pleasure within her again so quickly. She squealed as another finger joined the first, gently probing inside her.

Elsa's fingers found the sweet spot inside her lover, guided by her moans, and she kissed Anna's face and neck, her strong yet slender arms supporting the redhead and holding her close in her state of ecstasy.

Anna collapsed against Elsa once she had coaxed a second climax out of her; Elsa smiled, loving the pleasure she had given this beautiful mortal woman. When Anna had just about restored enough energy to sit up by herself, Elsa straddled her and took hold of her hands, bringing them to her firm breasts.

Anna found her energy immediately returned upon feeling the soft flesh of her lover's perfect body and she took hold of Elsa's slender waist in one hand, while she brought the other downwards, stroking the golden hair between her legs. She heard Elsa moan, the first sound she made during their encounter, as Anna's finger entered her hot, wet core.

Anna slid a second finger into her, rhythmically moving it in and out alongside the first. Elsa rode her fingers, pushing them deeper inside, her breathing shallow as she neared her climax.

Anna's thumb brushed the bud at the top of her lover's slit and she felt her inner muscles clench around her. For a few moments, Elsa writhed against Anna, her mouth open in a silent scream of pure joy.

Then Elsa breathed out a long, shuddering sigh and relaxed. She took Anna's face in her hands and kissed her passionately, pushing her back onto the ground.

They lay entwined, kissing each other until their energy was utterly spent, and Anna rested her head on Elsa's breast before drifting off to sleep, soothed by the rhythm of her lover's breathing and heartbeat.

When she awoke, Anna was alone. She looked around her, but found no trace of her lover except the satisfied ache in all her muscles.

Her heart saddened, she stood up and stretched, comforted by the physical memories the beautiful woman had left her with.

Anna wandered to the edge of the fjord and leaned over, seeing her reflection and a single perfect white feather floating on the surface of the water. She picked up the feather and held it to her face; soft, white and beautiful.


	3. Pygmalion

Queen Elsa was born with a gift. She brought beauty wherever she went.

As a small child, even the simplest pattern the young Princess sketched in the sand by the fjord with her finger, the lines she idly traced in boredom on breath-fogged glass stunned those who were fortunate enough to see them.

When she grew old enough to wield a pencil, the beauty Elsa created grew a thousandfold.

From abstract designs to studies of life and nature, Elsa attempted all, sketching or painting almost everything she saw. She was never without her notebook, always ready to record the beauty she viewed in the world; she never saw it as creation, just appreciation.

As she grew, Elsa began to specialise. Her favourite subject was the female form. The Princess was fascinated by the soft shapes of women's bodies, their curves, the nuances in their many expressions... And she was lucky that the kingdom of Arendelle was home to many beautiful ladies.

Out on royal visits with her parents, Elsa would stop women in the street and ask to draw them. Rich or poor, tall or short, hair in shades of gold, red or brown, Elsa was enchanted by the essence of female beauty that she saw in each one and felt the need to capture it, even at her young age.

Of course, each woman found it a privilege to model for the Princess, an artistic prodigy in her preteen years.

But Elsa's first revelation came when she was on the brink of womanhood herself. An only child, the Princess was accustomed to wandering the castle alone when books held no more entertainment for her. She would walk through the halls, sketchbook in hand, searching for inspiration.

One day, she found herself in the labyrinth that made up the servants' quarters. The thick, plain wooden doors that lined these halls held nothing for Elsa until she was compelled to stop outside one in particular, enticingly half-open. Elsa peeked through the gap.

Inside there was a young maid, naked, red-haired, standing in a bathtub and washing herself. She sponged her freckled shoulders then poured water over herself, letting it flow down her body, over her breasts and hips until it dripped off the red hair of her sex.

Elsa watched silently for a couple of minutes, entranced. She felt something stir low down within her, then couldn't hold back.

The servant girl screamed and covered herself when the door opened, but relaxed when she saw the Princess.

"Can I draw you? As you are?" Elsa asked, her eyes burning with the fire of her artistic gift.

The maid complied to the innocent but strange request, not knowing that her form called to Elsa, being a close match to a space deep inside the young Princess that was crying out to be filled as Elsa searched for a way to do so.

From that day, none of Elsa's drawings or paintings were clothed.

She filled her room with beautiful women, the images of the many models whose forms she had copied. They kept her company and Elsa was comforted by the visions of soft, curved flesh that she saw, awakening new feelings within herself as time went on.

Elsa's royal parents entertained and tolerated her idiosyncrasies. Elsa was not interested in courting or dancing like other young ladies her age. Instead she would study at her lessons as was required of her, but every other waking moment she dedicated to drawing and painting.

And nobody could deny the beauty Elsa created, not to mention the beauty of the Princess herself, so no one hindered her in her work.

Soon, each painting or sketch that Elsa had ever produced, she dedicated to the temple of the goddess of beauty and love, knowing that She was responsible for her gift.

Elsa filled it, relocating the contents of her room, and as a result, the temple had to be rebuilt and expanded many times to accommodate Princess Elsa's constantly growing collection of offerings.

The town's temple became an attraction, famous throughout the neighbouring lands, and it brought travellers and wealth to Arendelle in the form of pilgrims who came to see the visions of beauty the Princess had produced and feel the power her creations held.

However, Elsa was adamant that they should praise the goddess who had given her this gift, and not herself. Elsa insisted that she created these things because she felt it was her duty, that she was compelled to use her artistic powers. The Princess retained her quiet life in the castle, not attending any public appearances that the people sought.

Time passed. Elsa grew restless. She searched the kingdom in vain for the perfect woman who would allow her to create the ultimate vision of beauty that she felt dwelled within her, desperate to be set free.

Elsa was not blind to her own beauty, of course, and was well aware that by standards other than her own, she was the most beautiful of all women. But she felt it would be an insult to her Divine-given gift to try and capture her own beauty. Elsa knew this was not what it was meant for.

But now, as her gift grew even more, none of the women in real life were as beautiful as the ones in Elsa's mind. When she sketched from reality, her work always looked more stunning than the real women and made the models feel plain in comparison with what they had inspired.

So Elsa gave up on real women. She painted nude female figures summoned from her mind. She spent all the energy she had focusing on vivid impressions of the feel and scent and taste of the woman's skin that she felt in her soul, and tried fruitlessly to capture them on canvas.

Then she decided to experiment more in an endeavour to get closer to a truer form of beauty. Elsa turned her back on painting.

After years of experimentation, she found the artistic medium meant for her, and it was just as unusual and unique as her abilities.

Elsa began to carve figures from ice. Everything about it was perfect for her work and Elsa found it inexplicably beautiful.

Ice was natural, born of cold and winter air and mountain rain combining to form an otherworldly wonder when Elsa shaped it.

Ice was rare, needing to be carved and brought especially from frozen lakes high up in the mountains by teams of strong men who dedicated their lives to such work.

Ice was temporary. Each one of Elsa's exquisite carvings lasted but a couple of days and was left to melt as an offering at the shrine to the goddess for Her to claim as Her own.

Elsa learned to create life out of an element considered lifeless. She refined her technique until her creations looked as if they would move if one blinked.

Each maidenly figure - hauntingly beautiful with her translucent blue colouring that glinted in the light - might have been supposed to be alive, and if modesty did not hinder her, to be desirous to move; so much did art lie concealed under Elsa's skill.

And Elsa invited the world in to view her creations in honour of the goddess.

But then tragedy struck the land. The King and Queen were killed, taken by the fickle ocean, leaving their only daughter alone in her misery.

Elsa ascended to the throne. She shut the world out, never leaving the confines of her castle. She commissioned a studio to be built for her ice in a tower to numb the loss of her parents. The new Queen filled it with sculptures of beautiful women, all the more beautiful for their evanescence. They helped her to cope with ruling alone.

She spent her days in devotion, feeling the frenzy of her Divine creative abilities, letting them almost consume her as she crafted offerings to the goddess in her own private shrine.

One morning, Elsa woke with an image in her head, stronger, more vivid than any she had ever received before. She withdrew to her tower, passed her royal duties on to her advisors and sketched furiously.

Elsa sketched a particular young woman, testing various postures and angles for her figure, but she felt none of them matched. She knew this woman's body intimately, every curve and feature of her form had come to her complete, as if it had always dwelt within Elsa and was awakening at last.

Elsa dedicated days to sketching her, trying different poses and expressions. She would wake up in the middle of the night and have to get the pictures out of her head, but perfection eluded her.

Until one day Elsa sketched the pose that matched. The young woman was naked, her arm extended above her, Elsa knew not what for, but she knew it was right; this was how it was supposed to be.

The Queen shut herself in her studio, needing complete solitude for the sacredness of her task, and began to carve, shaping the ice with wondrous skill.

Elsa poured her very life into that sculpture. It was life-sized, almost as tall as Elsa herself. She lovingly transformed the solid ice into toned arms, shapely legs, curving hips, pert round breasts, loose hair that fell to the slender waist, delicate hands and feet. The pose was vivid, as if frozen in a moment of movement that been transported from another time, so intense was Elsa's skill.

Finally Elsa turned her attention to the face, the most important part that would complete her creation. She used her finest tools to sculpt the dainty features and match the maiden's face to the vision in her mind's eye. The perfect lips were parted, the large eyes wide, looking above, the expression was wistful.

At last, the sculpture was complete and when Elsa gazed into the face of the ice statue she felt her heart thud in recognition. The face she had dreamed of stared back, its eyes sadly unseeing.

And the statue claimed Elsa's heart at that moment. A rush of emotions overcame her, many Elsa recognised but others she could not explain; she didn't know the cause of the guilt she felt when she looked into the frozen face in front of her, but she could guess the reason for the despair that threatened to engulf her.

Elsa had no companion other than her ice statues and the loneliness of her rule, forgotten in her creative flurry, was reflected to Elsa when she saw her face mirrored in miniature in the statue's unblinking eyes, eyes that would never be able to meet her gaze.

But Elsa knew that now she had beheld this true, pure form of beauty to which no real woman could compare, she would be unable to settle for a companion of flesh and blood.

Elsa took off the gloves that protected her hands from the cold and touched the icy face. She felt an overpowering sadness that she and the ice maiden were separate, and that something so beautiful could not be real. It hurt her even more that the statue was only temporary and would leave her and melt after a couple of days.

Tears dripped down Elsa's cheeks. She had never shed any for the other statues, had let them all go without a single thought. But not this one. She knew there would never be another after it. This would be Elsa's final creation.

She withdrew her chilled hands and backed away.

Elsa wanted to spend every minute with the sculpture, but was also desperate to prolong its life by as much as she could and worried that her own proximity would do the exact opposite, so she withdrew to her chamber in the next room, securing the door behind her.

She slept, all her energy spent, and dreamed of the icy maiden, alive and caressing her with cool blue hands.

Rested and renewed, Elsa opened her eyes on the first full day of the statue's existence.

On the first day, Elsa looked. She spent its hours gazing at her creation from every angle, her eyes wide with wonder at how beautiful the statue was.

Elsa aimed to imprint its form onto her mind, intending to memorise it for a lifetime of recollection. She knew that memories of this unique and wondrous image would be priceless to her when she had to go back to her solitary life without it.

Elsa suppressed her tears when they clouded her eyes and obscured her vision. She knew she had to concentrate on the present and on her adoration of the form that she had been chosen to bring into being, especially since it was only for another day at most that it would be in this world. Elsa told herself that she was lucky.

When she could no longer keep her eyes open, the Queen retired to her room, not wasting a precious glance of the sculpture, removing her eyes from it only when she closed the door to maintain the cold and preserving atmosphere of the studio. She retired to her bed and returned to dreams of the statue, more vivid due to Elsa's hours of study.

On the second day, Elsa touched. She softly passed her hands over every part of it, or her, as Elsa now thought of the statue. Her fingers lightly caressed the ice, every curve, every crevice she had lovingly carved. Elsa traced the lines of the statue's flowing hair down until they blended with her spine and ended with the dimples on her lower back.

Every inch of her form was perfect to Elsa and awoke something deep within her, stronger than anything summoned by the other female forms she had observed in the past.

Elsa caressed the ice maiden's face and hands, delicately holding them, never for too long, never daring to endanger the element from which they were created.

The ice was hard against her skin, not yielding, as Elsa felt it should be, as it was in her dreams... She stroked the statue's breasts and passed her fingertip down to circle the navel. Elsa expected her to flinch, her lips to twitch in amusement and retaliate against Elsa's playful touch, but the statue could not move. And the statue could not touch her in return, so Elsa touched even more.

Elsa touched and she imagined. But when her imaginings brought heat between her thighs Elsa stopped, scared that the heat of her passion would cause her beloved creation to melt faster.

She left the studio, glancing back sadly. Elsa left to sweat out her lust and frustration in her bed where the ice maiden would be safe from the fire of her desire. And then she was summoned into fevered dreams, cooled by the touch of the statue in her mind as she slept.

When she awoke on the third day, Elsa knew that, if the statue had not been claimed already, this would be their final day together.

Hesitantly, fearfully, Elsa peered round the door. She praised the goddess when she found the statue perfectly intact.

Elsa went to bid the ice maiden good morning, she wanted to let her see the sunlight on what she felt would be the final day, but the heat would be too much so Elsa left the curtains closed, blocking out the harshest rays.

Instead Elsa ventured outside herself, the first time she had done so in weeks, intending to bring the sunlight in. She travelled to the castle gardens to gather sunflowers. She would bring the statue many beautiful suns that could not harm her.

The castle servants saw Elsa with a fire in her eyes but said nothing, though they were concerned for their Queen's health. They knew better than to disturb her and her gift.

She spent hours selecting the most perfect flowers and by the time she had gathered them, the real sun was beginning to set.

Elsa brought her offerings to the ice maiden, holding them up to see their yellow petals reflected in the ice. But then she saw her worst fear when she looked into the statue's face. Droplets of water dripped from its eyes, from its nose and off its chin. Elsa could hear the soft noise of water hitting the floor where it dropped from the statue's reaching hand. The flowers fell to her feet.

Elsa took the statue's face in her hands, feeling the dampness of its melting form. She lifted her eyes above, distraught and pleading.

"No, please! Don't take her! Please..."

She kissed the icy lips knowing it would be her only chance to, then fell against the statue, embracing her ice maiden, the meltwater mingling with her tears as she cried.

Elsa felt the ice she held move, heard a small noise almost like a gasp. She knew the ice was breaking, cracking as it fell apart, and she clung to it tighter.

Under her touch the ice she pressed became soft and lost its hardness, yielded to her fingers and gave way.

Elsa thought she was deluded in her despair. She heard a thumping in her ear and mistook it for her own heartbeat in her panic. Her eyes snapped open and saw red.

Hair as red as the fire of her passion surrounded Elsa when she opened her eyes.

A soft hand took hold of her arm and a second soon joined it, supporting Elsa. She looked up to see her statue transformed, full of colour and life at last. More beautiful than anything Elsa had ever seen.

"Elsa?" the vision asked, her voice soft and sweet.

Elsa stood, staring in disbelief at the beautiful maiden before her. Her delicate face was no longer frozen in sorrow and her eyes were real and human, looking right back at Elsa, their colour bluer than ice and at the same time greener than the forests that surrounded the kingdom. Elsa saw everything she loved in those eyes, now framed by ginger lashes, and found her words at last.

"You're alive?"

"Yes. I'm Anna," she said, smiling at Elsa's astonishment.

"Anna..." Elsa tested the name and found it perfect. "But I don't understand... Where did you come from?"

"You made me," Anna replied. "I'm yours, Elsa!" Then she pulled her creator towards her.

Their arms wrapped around each other, each maiden rested her head on the other's shoulder, feeling her breath and warmth and life.

Elsa inhaled the scent of Anna's hair, pressed against the softness of her skin, rejoicing in the human contact that she had only dreamed of before, but this was better than anything that dreams had ever given her. Elsa had no doubt that it was real, but suddenly feared damaging her companion. She loosened her hold, but Anna clung to her.

"It's cold in here," she said, naked as she was, in Elsa's ice studio. Her only source of warmth was Elsa's embrace.

"Come with me, I'll look after you," Elsa replied softly, regretfully extracting herself from Anna's arms. She pulled away and saw the redhead's smile, so full of love for her, full of trust and tenderness. The sight tugged at Elsa's heart, made her yearn for connection with Anna again.

Elsa took Anna's hand in her own and laced their fingers together before leading her to the bedroom by her studio. She opened the curtains and let the evening sun shine in, illuminating both of them with its soft light over the fjord.

As beautiful as she looked in that light - Elsa could gladly have spent a lifetime gazing at her as she was - Anna needed something to cover her nakedness.

Elsa searched quickly through the small wardrobe, knowing not what it contained, until she found an old nightgown she had outgrown.

Anna raised her arms obediently when Elsa brought it to her. And Elsa took in the glory of Anna's body as she dressed her. She brushed the red hair off Anna's shoulders revealing even more freckles there than were on her face, freckles that had not been present in the drawings or in her ice form, but Elsa thought they were perfect and loved every single one of them.

Elsa guided Anna's delicate hands and slender arms through the sleeves and pulled the nightgown over her head, then down to cover her breasts. Elsa smoothed the garment until it flowed to Anna's knees, then freed her red tresses from the collar.

"Thank you!" Anna said, examining the nightgown and how the fabric flowed with her movements.

Elsa walked to the corner of the room and firmly pulled on a rope which led through the entire castle to a bell in the servants' quarters. They knew what to do when they heard it.

Not long after - although Elsa would not have been able to tell if asked whether it was a few minutes, an eternity or a mere second as she had spent the entire time gazing at Anna - there was a knock on the door.

Elsa put her finger to her lips, ensuring Anna's silence. The redhead nodded in reply and Elsa opened the door just wide enough to take the tray, on which there was food and a lit candle, from the servant on the other side, then closed it without a word.

Elsa would keep Anna a secret for tonight. If this wasn't a dream or an insane illusion, if Anna was still there in the morning, Elsa would make up an excuse to the servants, to the kingdom, and reveal Anna to them.

For now, she carried the tray carefully and set it on a table at the bedside.

Anna followed her and sat on the bed by the pillows.

"Here, eat. It's for you!" Elsa indicated the tray of food next to her, then sat down beside Anna to contentedly watch her eat.

Anna ate the slices of bread that the servant had prepared then took the bowl of soup from the tray, but instead of eating it herself, fed it to Elsa, knowing instinctively that she needed nourishment.

Elsa would fondly remember that meal as the best she had ever eaten. It had been days since she last properly ate, surviving off the raw energy of her inspiration until now, but Anna both reminded her of and satisfied her need. Elsa took the spoonfuls that her maiden gently offered, feeling how much Anna cared for her and she knew that the Divines had blessed her with her eternal companion. She would never know loneliness or despair again now that Anna was with her.

Anna replaced the bowl on the tray and sat, patiently watching Elsa undress and change into her own nightgown.

She stuck her head through the top of it to see Anna staring and smiling at her.

"Is something wrong?" Elsa asked.

"No. I like looking at you," Anna replied, simply.

Elsa blushed, made shy by Anna's honesty, and arranged the nightgown over herself.

They wordlessly agreed to share the bed. They sat side by side and Elsa tenderly took Anna into her arms in a brief embrace, pausing to place a kiss on her forehead.

"Goodnight," she breathed, gazing into those stunning blue-green eyes.

Anna wanted to lean in and kiss her creator's lips, but knew there would be plenty of time for that in the future. "Goodnight," she returned, and they both got under the covers, holding hands but otherwise unconnected, remaining chaste for the moment.

The warmth of their bodies was shared between them, mingling as their fingers did, and each found in the other's presence a comfort that did not need to be announced aloud.

The candle burned lower. Elsa felt Anna's hold on her hand relax and heard her steady breathing. But rest proved elusive to her, try as she did to close her eyes and invite sleep to take over.

Elsa's eyes wouldn't stay shut now that reality was better than her dreams. Despite her doubts, she trusted that the Divines had not deceived her.

She looked over at Anna, facing Elsa in her sleep. She thought of the days she had spent sketching, then carving that perfect body lying next to her.

Elsa knew every part of Anna's form yet now, she had changed; she would feel warm, she would react when Elsa touched her... And Elsa was so desperate to touch her... After spending most of her adult life surrounded by beautiful female bodies, Elsa had never touched any other than her own, never having found perfection until seeing Anna, and now the desire to do so stirred within her, its heat radiating from her core and spreading gradually through Elsa's body until she was conscious of almost nothing else.

Elsa pulled the covers down slowly off herself and her sleeping companion; not to wake Anna, just to look, just to give herself a little relief.

Although the nightgown covered Anna's body, it also clung to her figure and highlighted her contours, making what flesh was displayed all the more enticing, so much perfect warm womanly freckled flesh lying within Elsa's reach.

There was a faint blush on Anna's freckled cheeks, her soft chest rose and fell gently with each breath and the sound of her breathing... Every part of her was so  _inviting_.

Elsa imagined touching Anna now, now that she was alive. Anna had a voice now, unlike in her dreams; Elsa would be able to make her moan.

But Elsa knew that Anna was a gift, a precious gift. Elsa did not want to mistreat her in any way.

So Elsa touched herself instead and simply looked at Anna, their forms more of a match now that they were both alive. She brought her hand up to her breasts and caressed them, teasing her stiff, aching nipples through the fabric, thinking of Anna's pert, freckled breasts pressing against her as she had felt during their first embrace that day.

Elsa spread her legs and moved her hand underneath her nightgown. She slowly wet her finger within her folds and imagined Anna would feel the same as she did in her own secret place, hot and moist to her touch instead of cold as she had been when a statue. Elsa slid her fingers in and out of her slick centre, slowly building up the desire within herself as she imagined the living warm form of Anna acting out her movements. She bucked against the bed when she found a rhythm and her fingers brushed the right spot inside herself, feeling pleasure overtake her.

Anna woke, hearing Elsa moan, feeling the bed move next to her. "Elsa?" she called, sitting up to stretch.

Elsa cursed herself for disturbing Anna, ashamed at being caught indulging in her desires.

Anna opened her eyes to see her beloved creator flushed and breathing hard, refusing to meet her gaze. Elsa straightened the skirt of her nightgown, two of her fingers looked wet.

"Sorry I woke you, Anna," Elsa mumbled, shifting on the bed.

Anna could tell Elsa needed her right now, her innate knowledge of her beautiful blonde companion guided her towards what she, and what Anna herself, wanted them to experience together.

"Don't be sorry! Let me help," Anna said. She reached out to take Elsa's hand, which trembled slightly as she raised it to her lips and kissed the soft skin of her palm. She looked into Elsa's eyes, feeling the connection between them as she gazed into their blue depths, then leaned in to kiss Elsa's lips, remembering the kiss and the love that had brought her to life, feeling that love between them, stronger than anything and overwhelmingly beautiful.

Anna peeled off the nightgown from Elsa's sensitive, sweat-dampened and aroused body to behold her in all her glory.

Elsa's fantasy had become reality, her beautiful woman could touch her at last. The hand that she had made stroked her own slick centre, knowing instinctively how to please her creator.

Anna rubbed the sensitive bundle of nerve endings within Elsa's folds, gently, first lightly, then increasing the pressure of her fingertip as Elsa writhed under her.

Elsa's cries came freely from her lips and she clung to Anna as the sensation of pleasure coiled and tightened within her, almost ready to release. And when Anna brought Elsa to that release it had the same quality as a dream, liberating her from the restrictions of the world, but it was better than anything she could do in dreams. Elsa felt intense euphoria and elation beyond all she had ever imagined. The pleasure she felt was the gift of True Love from the goddess Herself, given to her in the form of Anna.

Elsa stared in adoration of her creation after she rejoined the mortal plane again. Anna lay next to her, staring back at her with equal love in her blue-green eyes. Elsa reached out to stroke her flushed, freckled face for a moment before leaning over to remove her nightgown. She restored Anna to her natural state, which was even more natural now that they were both naked together.

Elsa knew every inch of Anna's body, and she stroked the familiar curves but felt her flesh respond, felt heat where she had previously felt cold, just as Elsa had dreamed it should be.

Elsa knew every inch of Anna's body, but only on the outside. Very tenderly and gently she explored beneath the curling coppery hair between Anna's legs and found the pink wet flesh within to be perfect, and the taste of her was perfect, too.

Elsa kissed every part of her, pressing her lips in a trail of adoration up to Anna's freckled breasts, her nipples now erect from the soft caresses of Elsa's lips. Elsa could feel Anna's panting breaths and her heartbeat beneath her kisses, constant reminders that Anna was truly hers, truly alive as Elsa had secretly wished since she had first viewed her as a sculpture.

Elsa kissed Anna's awaiting mouth, her tongue gently seeking an entrance between her lips, while her fingers felt within Anna's folds, stroking the sensitive wetness.

Anna broke the kiss to gasp for breath, moaning with joy from the pleasure the hands that made her now gave her.

Elsa slid her fingers inside, up into her hot core, the very opposite of the ice's coldness. Guided by Anna's cries, Elsa coaxed her towards the ecstasy that she had just felt herself. She felt Anna tighten and shudder under her, heard her voice rise in elation; Elsa was elated herself that she could share such pleasure with her own Anna, the most perfect companion she could ever have wished for.

Anna and Elsa clung to each other, knowing their lives were entwined forever, inextricably and inseparably, so glad to have found each other at last.

The next day, Elsa came out to address her kingdom for the first time in her reign. She presented Anna and announced their wedding, declaring the day a sacred festival in honour of the goddess of love and beauty.

But she never explained that the goddess had given Anna to her as a gift, for she knew one should not boast of such things.

All accepted Queen Elsa's mysterious consort, with her beautiful flame-red hair and her sweet smile, whose glory she only truly bestowed on her beloved Elsa. Nobody knew where she had come from, but nobody cared because Anna brought life back to the kingdom and light into Elsa's life.


	4. Persephone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A request from an anonymous reviewer over on fanfiction.net. This oneshot has maybe a slightly different feel, only loosely based on the original for various reasons. But this is how it turned out so I hope you enjoy it, nevertheless.

The old gods never die. People may forget them, call them by other names, turn their deeds into myths, but they live on and their power is as strong as it ever was. They will speak if you listen, come if you call them. They can help you, but all power has a price.

Agdar knew this when he entered the ancient sacred grove. He did so with intent. A farmer all his life, he had been raised on the old ways, close to the land, close to the seasons; a man of duty, a provider to his people.

He entered the stone circle in the forest to call upon Elsa, the winter goddess of old. She was the only one who could do what Agdar asked, and he was the only one who could ask it.

The forest was silent around him, but between the stones there dwelt a certain kind of silence, amplified by the snow already thick on the ground this early in the year, a time that should have been the end of the harvest. Agdar felt that he was not alone, despite there being no other creatures in his sight.

When he drew his silver knife, in the gleam of its blade Agdar could have sworn he saw movement behind him. But when he turned around there was nothing there except the stones, their shadows and the forest beyond.

He turned back to the centre of the circle and the low stone that lay there, worn after millennia of ancient rites, rites that had been long forgotten, rites that he was about to invoke.

Agdar looked down at the stone, dark against the snow, and raised his hand. He raised the other that held the knife and brought the two together, passing the sharp blade over his palm.

White snow, red blood, black stone; ancient colours for an ancient rite. Agdar spilled his own blood onto the stone and the snow then waited, tense, willing the pain away with his mind in his determination.

It wasn't long before he felt the presence, a stirring in his soul that warned him he was wandering into areas seldom ventured by mortal man these days. He turned, clutching his cut hand to his chest. The otherworldly sight he saw struck him with fear, but he knew he had done the right thing, despite his distress.

"Why did you call me here?" the goddess asked, her voice soft, low and melodious. Just one glance at her confirmed her Divinity; light gold hair in a luxuriant braid fell to her slender waist and the dress that clothed her flawless figure looked like it had been woven from ice itself, it glittered bluely and eerily with her movements as the goddess walked towards him, her hips swaying almost hypnotically.

Agdar felt only awe and fear, yet he did not move and dared not look into her face, knowing he would be paralysed by her great and awesome beauty, more beautiful than any mortal woman he had ever seen or ever would see, if he did. He found his voice and answered her, recalling the reason he had come here.

"I - I beg of you, Divine One, please, hold back the winter. Make it mild and save the harvest, save the people. Barely a dozen of us survived after last year's storms... Please, Queen Elsa..."

Elsa stood before him, shorter than Agdar in her human form, yet with a presence as tall as the mountains.

Agdar made the mistake of looking into the goddess' eyes, bluer than the heart of a glacier, beautiful, powerful, dangerous, cold. Not of this world, and yet intrinsic to it. The sight of them would haunt his dreams forevermore.

Elsa looked into his mortal eyes and could see that he had the most precious thing of all to her, the one thing she had been seeking for aeons. She knew, with the unfathomable knowledge that only the Divines can access, that this deal would change the world.

"I can do what you ask of me," she said. "But in exchange, you must give me what is closest to your heart."

"Closest to my...?" Agdar knew she did not mean literally. He thought through all he owned, simple farmer's property, nothing special. The one thing he held most dear to him was his only daughter... But the goddess couldn't mean her...

"For my bride," said Elsa, confirming Agdar's fear. "And she will be willing. She will come to me willingly before next winter. Otherwise I shall claim her myself and a winter more terrible than any you have ever known will descend upon this land if you attempt to withhold her from me." She held out her hand.

Agdar lowered his gaze to her perfect palm, her skin flawlessly white.

He had sequestered Anna, his precious daughter, his prize, never letting the other villagers' sons approach her, none were good enough for his Anna. But it would be an honour for her to be a goddess' consort... He could tame her feisty free spirit in time... He could let her go for the sake of everyone else. Just one life in exchange for saving many more...

Agdar took the goddess' hand, cold and soft in his own, and it felt as if she gripped his very soul as he sealed the deal with his blood.

He examined his hand when she released her brief grip to see the cut had healed, a faint white scar the only trace that it had ever been. Agdar looked up again but the goddess had gone, not a single footprint left on the crisp snow, and he was alone in the still, silent stone circle.

Though not entirely alone. Two ravens sat on the tallest stone, one glossy blue-black, one pure white. Each gave a harsh, grating cry before flying off into the grey sky out of sight, leaving Agdar truly alone in the sacred grove again. Two feathers, one white, one black, blew towards Agdar's feet before he ran back through the forest, back towards his wooden house where his only daughter waited for him. He knew the bargain had been made and his time with her was now limited.

The deal made Elsa strong. The belief - long faded in recent years - she felt from Agdar's act strengthened the goddess. For too long she had been ignored in the mortal realm, her powers forgotten and her season considered cold and cruel by mankind. They forgot that the heart of the goddess of winter was anything but frozen.

Events had been set in motion. Elsa prepared to lessen the winter, prepared to welcome her bride at the end of it, prepared to usher in a new age for gods and men.

Agdar continued his journey home. He trudged tiredly through the snow and pondered what he had done. Had he been right? Had he been right to give his daughter's life to a goddess? Agdar did not know. All he knew was that it had been done and he would have to live with his decision.

His daughter opened the door to greet him, having seen his approach through the window. A warm fire glowed in the hearth behind Anna, but Agdar felt a chill at the sight of her.

"Papa! Papa, what's wrong?" she asked, concerned when she saw her father's troubled countenance.

Anna's hair had always been as red as his own, only now when Agdar looked at her, by her right temple there was a strand of pure white, contrasting starkly with the rest of her fiery tresses.

"Your hair..." He pointed to it, the scar on his healed hand tingling slightly as he did so.

"My... hair? What are you talking about?" she asked, guiding her father in out of the cold night air and shutting the door behind him.

"Did you do something to it while I was away?"

"I didn't do anything! What - "

Agdar pulled her over to the looking-glass to show her.

Anna saw the white hair and her eyes widened in disbelief. She touched it curiously, it didn't come off. Anna pulled the strand free of her braid, finding that each hair was pure white all the way.

"But it doesn't mean anything, right? Nothing bad's going to happen to me, is it, Papa?" She had a portentous feeling, not of something malevolent, just that change was coming.

"No, dear." He gave her a smile that didn't reach his eyes and looked away from his daughter. But what he caught sight of next did not give him comfort.

Two feathers, one black, one white, lay on the table. Agdar picked them up, his heart pounding, threw them out of the window and shut it again. Not that the night air was cold, the snow had already begun to melt, but to shut out the reminder of his deal.

And what Agdar and his fellow townsfolk wished came to pass. That winter was the mildest they had known in centuries; they entered it with a rich harvest and left it with good health, young, old and everyone in between.

Elsa met her side of the bargain, yet Agdar tried to forget his. He guarded Anna even more closely than before, would barely let her leave the house, not even to help on the farm.

But there were always reminders and signs from the goddess as the year went on; feathers, an occasional unexplained chill in summer, an aching feeling in his scar.

Agdar knew he should prepare to give Anna up, but he couldn't let her go and did not tell her about her part in the bargain; he thought that if he forgot, it would go away and fade as the knowledge of the Divines had done from most of the land. Agdar was a man of duty, but since this involved his precious Anna, he decided that other rules now applied, rules that he would create and live by to maintain the happiness of his life with her.

But the goddess' patience was growing thin.

At the end of summer, Agdar died. Not by magical means, it was simply his time. He sickened and faded, tended by his daughter on his deathbed.

"Anna, you must leave here before winter!" he told her, clutching her hand as his conscience clutched at his heart, sensing it was failing. "I didn't give you up, she'll be angry...! Go to the stone circle and become her bride. It's... an honour to be the bride of a goddess... I only did it to protect you, Anna..." His grip on her hand faded.

Anna paid his words no heed, dismissing them as delirious ramblings.

For one so young, she dealt with her grief well, at least ostensibly. Anna opened the doors to others now that her father wasn't there to stop her. She made friends, she hired help for the farm, she began to turn her attention towards a young man, but Anna's mourning would not be over until the spring so she rejected his hasty offer of marriage. She went about alone dressed in black velvet, rightfully too rich for such rough work.

Anna left the house one day to gather firewood and stepped through the thick layer of the year's first snow, black as a raven against its whiteness. This winter looked set to surpass the last already, early as it was.

And that was how Anna looked when Elsa first beheld her in the flesh; her black clothes marking her out against the white snow, her breath misting in the chill air, her freckled face flushed from her work. Elsa thought her the most beautiful maiden to ever have walked the earth.

Anna was beheld, beloved and seized by the goddess. Her firewood fell to the forest floor as Elsa snatched her from the snowy ground and into her ice chariot, pulled by a multitude of white ravens with a single black bird at the front.

Elsa cupped the stunned girl's face in her hands to claim her first kiss and bestow upon her numbness from the cold so that she would survive the winter land to which they went; the only thing that Elsa would take from her unwilling bride.

Anna, stilled in her shock, frozen in her fear, felt the press of those Divine lips on hers, impossibly soft, impossibly sweet, and heard the wing beat of the birds echoed by the pounding of her heart. She felt, deep in her soul, somehow safe and secure, though her conscious mind was reeling and rebelling against all that had occurred so quickly.

She did not know how long they stayed like that, and when Elsa let go, Anna staggered back, clutching the ice of the chariot, but she felt no cold.

Anna watched the land fly by beneath them, a sight never seen by mortal eyes before, as she was carried away from her childhood home.

Elsa unleashed her hold on her Divine powers, a storm whirled in their wake. She left winter raging in the mortal lands to show her anger, to show that they could not ignore her or forget their bargains without paying a high price.

Together they drifted swiftly through time and space, beyond the mortal realm.

The next thing Anna knew, she was standing in a large hall she could tell was made from ice. Its exquisite walls, ceilings and decorations glimmered, silent, bright and cold, yet Anna found the cold did not bother her.

Anna laid her eyes on her abductor and thought her fair, fairer and more perfect than anyone or anything Anna had ever seen, and she thought her somehow familiar; Anna knew not why and her anger didn't let her dwell on such thoughts.

"Who are you? Where am I? Take me back home now!" Anna demanded and punctuated it with a stamp of her foot on the ice floor, not slipping due to her tough boots, her determination and Elsa's sorcerous kiss.

"I can't, Anna," Elsa explained, coolly. "Your father made a deal with me. I held back the winter so your people would prosper and in exchange he agreed that I could claim you as my bride."

"What? No, my father wouldn't do... wouldn't have done something like that!" She clenched her fists in frustration and confusion, but thought of her hair and her father's dying words... "Who are you?"

"I am Elsa."

"The goddess?"

"Yes. And you are in my realm."

Anna looked at Elsa anew and felt her Divinity, felt power emanating from her, power that infused their surroundings and now even dwelt within Anna.

She turned to the hall in which they stood. Anna had expected the realm of winter to be as black as the death of the year it brought, but she could see only white and shades of faintest blue. Her dress was the only black thing, a reminder of the mortal world, dull by comparison.

The walls of the hall were lit from within, as if the ice possessed a light of its own. It was better than her small wooden house, better to live with a beautiful goddess than a husband who Anna knew could only give her thirteen children and an occasional black eye...

Whereas with the love of a goddess... Anna had heard all the old tales of such unions... But she had her pride. This was Anna's life, not a tale, and Anna wanted to control it herself.

"And I have no choice?" she asked, turning her eyes to Elsa's deep, Divinely blue ones. "I can't leave?"

"You can't," the goddess replied.

Anna could see some regret there, and her melodious voice faltered slightly.

"It was an ancient form of pact," Elsa explained. "Blood magic cannot be undone."

Anna remained silent.

"I won't mistreat you, you have my word," Elsa promised. She would have told Anna of all the riches she would bestow on her, the wonders she would share with her, but could tell it was too soon for that.

Tears clouded Anna's vision, partly because of the kindness she had seen in the goddess' eyes, mostly because of her confusion and because the loss of her father was still too near.

"This chamber is yours," Elsa said, and with her words one of the hall's many doors opened by itself. Elsa turned away from her reluctant bride and silently ascended a staircase leading to her palace's upper floors.

Anna suppressed her sobs and entered the room. The door shut behind her, leaving her alone inside. Her chamber contained, as its main feature, a large bed like a magnificently grand one from her own world in every way except that the frame was made of ice. Anna flung herself, fully-clothed, onto the bed and cried herself to sleep in confusion, hoping that she would wake up in the morning back in her own room and in her own simple life again.

Elsa watched Anna in her enchanted mirror from her own bedchamber. She was the consort that Elsa had always dreamed of, since even the Divines cannot face eternity alone.

She gazed at Anna as she slept, her black dress, her white, freckled skin, her red hair, red apart from the white streak marking her as Elsa's. Anna had hair as red as fire, the perfect element to complement the goddess of ice.

Anna looked almost childlike with her hair in twin braids, yet she was a woman in every other way...

Elsa loved her, but if Anna wasn't willing, she would keep her distance; she would not be like her Divine ancestors of old who took mortals for their pleasure without heeding their protests of refusal.

Elsa was disappointed and deeply angered that Agdar had not prepared his daughter. But she would let Anna adapt and grow accustomed to life in the palace and the realm of winter.

The goddess summoned her servants, silently giving them orders to prepare food for Anna in the morning.

Anna awoke and opened her eyes to see a silent, humanoid snow creature standing in front of her. She shrieked in surprise and cowered back against the icy headboard.

The creature didn't move, but Anna saw that it was holding a tray of food, fruit that looked more delicious standing out as it did against the ice and snow of the surroundings. And Anna had not eaten for a long time... Yet her pride and her frustration at waking up and finding her situation had not changed prevented her from accepting the creature's food. However, she would have eaten any food if Elsa had come to offer it herself and looked at her with those stunning blue eyes...

"Go away! Leave me alone!" Anna said to the creature, looking into the hollow holes that were its eyes.

The snow creature took the tray and walked out of the chamber, its gait unnatural and the soft sound of its frozen feet faintly echoing behind it.

Alone, Anna lay back in the bed and looked at the ice ceiling above her. She thought of the view from her bed in her own house and imagined what was happening at this moment in her home.

The villagers would wait for a few days to see if she returned, but when she didn't they would take over her house and her farm and argue over which of her possessions they could claim for their own.

Anna thought of all the things she wouldn't need anymore, but could not think of any that she would particularly miss; hers had been a life of practicality rather than luxury. But there would be no more toil for Anna now she was the bride of a goddess.

Yet Anna was not used to being inactive and soon grew restless. She decided to explore the ice palace and find a way out, a way back to her own world, if such a thing existed.

She left her chamber and tried every door she found. Anna turned the handles of those that possessed them and pushed her shoulder against those that didn't, using all her body weight to try and force them open.

When Anna had dismissed her attempts at the doors as hopeless, she turned her attention to the stairs which she had seen Elsa climb the previous day.

Anna climbed them herself, unnerved that each step was transparent so she could see the floor down below as she ascended right up beyond the hall's high ceiling and into a second similar room.

However, this hall was different from the one below and Anna was immediately drawn to the ornate open doorway right in front of her.

This was the chamber of the goddess herself and Anna found Elsa in front of her mirror, studying the storm she had wrought in the mortal land. Her thick blonde hair flowed loose down her back to her hips, no longer confined to its braid of yesterday. Anna realised that there was a slit in the side of her dress through which she could see Elsa's bare leg. She was undeniably beautiful, Anna concluded, even if the goddess was keeping her here against her will.

Elsa turned to the doorway when she sensed Anna's presence.

"You haven't eaten," the goddess stated, knowing instinctively. At her thought, a snow creature - possibly the same one as before, Anna had no way of telling - appeared at Anna's side carrying more fruit.

With Elsa's wordless insistence, and her own hunger beginning to make her weary, Anna gave in and selected a pomegranate. The snow servant vanished before her eyes as soon as she took the fruit into her hands, leaving her alone with Elsa again.

Anna split the skin with her thumbnail and pulled the pomegranate apart. She bit into the red jewels that lay inside, not caring about the bitter pith between them, and ate the fruit until the bright juice ran down her chin.

Elsa watched as a large drop trickled from Anna's chin, down her throat and disappeared down in between her breasts, the top of her soft, freckled chest visible and contrasting against her black velvet dress. Elsa fought the urge to lick the juice and take Anna right there; she was a goddess and could do whatever she wanted but Elsa would never force Anna, knowing she had already brought her here unwillingly.

As if she could feel Elsa's eyes on her, Anna's own blue-green ones flicked up to meet her gaze and she withdrew her mouth from the fruit, having satisfied her hunger with its sweet juices for the moment. She licked her wet lips and dropped the remainder of the pomegranate onto the icy floor.

"I'll find a way out of this place. I'll find a way to go home," Anna said, her strength and her defiance returning.

"You can't, Anna," Elsa replied, repeating her words of yesterday.

"Then stop me! If I'm your bride, order me not to!"

The redhead looked around the room. There may have been no open doors in the palace, but there were windows. Anna walked to the grand window across the chamber and looked down.

"Anna..." Elsa could sense what she was going to try, but she wasn't going to prevent Anna from attempting to escape. Any attempt would be futile; Elsa was one with every element in her realm and would arrange it so that Anna returned to her unharmed once she had seen what the world of winter contained.

It must have been at least a hundred foot drop to the white ground below, but there was a thick covering of fresh powder so Anna guessed it would be a soft landing, and deep down she knew Elsa wouldn't let her come to any harm. She climbed onto the window ledge, glanced back at Elsa for a brief moment, took a deep breath and jumped.

Anna felt the wind rush past her and saw a blur of white and blue before she shut her eyes. In almost no time at all, she landed with a soft thud and opened her eyes to find she was right; the snow was just like a pillow.

With her heart racing and adrenaline rushing through her body, Anna got to her feet and ran straight ahead, occasionally sinking into the snow but not letting that stop her. She was powered by the tumult of emotions inside her and by the sight of the tundra in front, a wider space than Anna had ever seen that gave her the desire to leave her footprints on its vast expanse, knowing that she would be the first mortal ever to do so.

The sun shone from the clear, cloudless sky, somehow unlike the sun Anna had always known. Its light did not dazzle her as it was reflected off the snow's surface and it inspired Anna to go and seek what was beyond the horizon.

When she could no longer run, Anna walked. The tundra seemed to extend forever but out here, Anna felt calm. She could let her confused thoughts and feelings go, replacing them with the simple task of putting one foot in front of the other.

Soon, Anna saw something on the horizon, a distant mass, she couldn't tell what it was, but decided to make it her goal to find out. Anna turned back to see Elsa's ice palace, magnificent and sparkling in the sunlight, small with the distance she had travelled. She looked ahead of her again and continued onwards.

Anna discovered that what she had seen was a forest, although not like the forest of her homeland; it was strange and silent with no living thing besides herself making movement or sound between the trees.

And the trees themselves were unlike anything Anna had laid eyes on before. Some were completely covered, bent over and shrunken in the snow, but still somehow beautiful. Others, as Anna wandered deeper into the forest, were like weeping willows with slender hanging branches that had orbs of ice crystals attached to them and tinkled like chimes when she touched them.

Anna never knew winter could be so beautiful, having only known it as a season of cold and death. But everything she saw in this winter land was wonderful, even if Anna still missed heat, missed colour...

She came to a clearing in the forest and discovered a cliff, steep and sheer above her, with what she recognised as a frozen waterfall, its ice contrasting with the grey rock.

Anna resolved to climb it. From the top she knew she might find a way out of this winter land, or at least back to the palace...

She began to climb the jagged frozen water, her bare hands felt the cold of the ice but did not feel pain. There were not many handholds and Anna did not get far before she struggled and stopped. She reached up as far as she could to take hold of an outcrop of ice and pull herself up onto the slight ledge but caught the sleeve of her dress on a sharp icicle below it.

The ice pierced the cloth and Anna's skin beneath, and with the pain and the shock Anna lost her grip and fell. She fell onto the snow, unintentionally this time, and felt her breath knocked out of her as she landed flat on her back.

Anna looked at her arm and her torn sleeve beside her. Blood spilled out of the wound and turned the white snow red as strawberries in summertime, the only colour in this land of eternal winter. The sight of it made Anna feel small and human and powerless, and she cried for her father, her freedom and her uncertain future.

When her tears had run dry, Anna lay in silence, her eyes shut against the bright world around her and her breath trembling. She felt a presence and snapped them open.

Above her, Elsa stood. She knelt beside Anna and took hold of her hand, delicately, hesitantly, as if the goddess was in awe of her.

Elsa's tender touch was warm, not cold, and she slowly peeled back the blood-soaked black sleeve from Anna's arm and traced her finger over the wound.

Anna felt a welcoming numbing cold in her arm and watched as the blood froze and fell in scarlet crystal drops, ceasing to flow from the cut.

Elsa's eyes met her own and Anna saw emotions she would never have expected from a goddess in her expression, but they did not speak. Elsa lifted her up, her touch firm but light as she held her bride in her arms.

Anna closed her eyes against Elsa's neck, the scent of her skin somehow cool and comforting when she breathed it in. She opened them, seemingly seconds later and found herself being placed in her bed.

Elsa looked down at her and gently pulled the covers up to Anna's neck, securing them around her. A few soft strands of her hair fell forwards as she leaned over and Anna was struck by how Elsa's simple action of tucking them behind her ear with her pale and elegant hand made her seem almost human and yet at the same time only emphasised how Elsa was more beautiful than any human could ever be.

Elsa sat back and paused, not meeting Anna's eyes, reluctant to leave her, though even more reluctant to stay with Anna against her will, yet she felt that something needed to be said, but her love for this mortal girl astounded even her Divine wisdom and left Elsa speechless.

Anna thought about the bed and the closeness of Elsa's body next to hers. Her thoughts synchronised with the goddess' at that moment, but Anna's honesty, her curiosity and her weariness meant she spoke what was on her mind.

"Why don't you force me to do anything?" Anna asked. "I'm your bride, your possession; I wouldn't be able to stop you."

"You're not a possession, Anna. I don't want to see you get hurt," Elsa replied.

"Then let me go home."

"I can't." Elsa did not attempt to explain the reasons that Anna couldn't fathom, reasons to do with rites of blood and things much deeper.

Elsa left her alone to rest and recover, to learn to accept her new life and to understand that she would not be harmed. She looked back to see Anna turn onto her side towards the window and Elsa hoped that the beauty of her world, along with the beauty of herself, would eventually warm Anna's heart towards her.

Anna saw the sky fade from blue to purple to indigo, then she watched in fascination when lights appeared. They shimmered in shades of green, ghostly and graceful, clearer than the glimpses of the Northern Lights she had seen in her own land.

Then she watched the stars come out, unfamiliar and brighter. Anna found shapes in them more beautiful than those at home.

And as she thought of all the beauty there was in this world of winter, Anna wasn't sure whether she even wanted to return home anymore. There was no Elsa in her homeland and nothing as wondrous as what she had seen today.

Anna sensed such power in this world, power that belonged to Elsa, and if she was Elsa's bride, that meant that Elsa was also hers...

She could be more free here with a goddess at her side than she ever could be in the land of her birth. Anna thought of all of this and more as she drifted off into a deep, renewing sleep.

The silent, impassive snow servant waited on Anna again when she awoke, but this time she ate all the food it offered her.

Alone, strengthened by her rest and the beginning of her change of heart, Anna wandered through the halls of the winter palace, finding all its doors open to her now. She found many wonders there in those many different chambers that defied all the laws of nature she knew, and Anna learned that the whiteness of snow and ice could hold at the same time all colours and no colours at all.

Time passed differently in the winter realm and as the minutes or the days or the months went by, Anna found herself seeking Elsa, feeling something drawing them together, or Elsa would be drawn to her.

Anna would always feel Elsa's presence before she saw her, that shifting in energies that told her she was in the company of a Higher Being. She would look at Elsa and take in the beauty of her enigmatic grace, the unutterable loveliness of her every feature and the unconditional Divine love she felt from her.

And they would talk. Anna would ask the goddess about her life and her powers and Elsa would do her best to put into inadequate mortal speech how it felt to  _be_  the snowstorm and the flurry and the frost.

As they grew closer, Anna began to warm to the idea of being a goddess' bride. One day, Anna came to Elsa, looked into her eyes and said what was on her mind.

"Elsa, if I'm your bride then make me a dress, give me a ring!"

Elsa had been waiting to hear her say such words, to show she accepted their union even if she had not chosen it. Elsa gladly transformed the black of Anna's mourning dress into dazzling white, left it sleeveless and gave it an icy gauze train flowing from the back.

Anna held the skirt out to examine it, her eyes wide with wonder, then looked at her hand and saw a delicate, crystalline ice ring shining in shades of blue and white and silver on her finger. She smiled up at Elsa and saw a matching one on the goddess' own finger. Then for the first time in their brief relationship, Anna watched as Elsa truly smiled, her expression like the joyous bright sun on a clear winter's day, and her eyes as blue as clear solstice skies.

"You look beautiful," she said, mirroring Anna's own thoughts before leaving her for the day to do whatever goddesses do; Elsa did not want to frighten Anna away with the intensity and the power of her Divine love.

When night came, after a day of enjoying her new dress and contemplating her life here with Elsa, Anna began to think of other things that brides do. Not many mortals could say they had the privilege of lying with one of the Divines; Anna knew the old tales well and such unions were rarely so harmonious as their own.

And Anna loved the idea of being fully joined with Elsa, who was so kind to her and possessed such beauty and power. Anna had grown to love Elsa as much as the goddess loved her and was ready to offer herself willingly to see what Elsa would do, Elsa who had been so chaste and kind towards her.

Barefoot, Anna left her bed and crept across the icy floor of her room and the hall, marvelling at how the ice palace looked at night, its walls seeming to dimly gleam with their own magical phosphorescence lighting her way.

Anna lifted the skirt of her dress to climb the stairs, the faint rustling of its fabric and the soft sound of her feet on the ice the only sounds in the stillness. She felt no cold, just warmth coursing through her from her heart, increasing with its rhythm as she reached Elsa's room.

The goddess' chamber was lit by gentle shifting light. Through the window, Anna saw that the sky was awake, and Elsa was awake, too.

Elsa sat on her bed, her shapely legs extended in front of her, one of them displayed through the side of her dress. Her attention was fixed on the main source of light in the room. A swirling magical vortex, a formation of snowflakes within snowflakes expanded and contracted between her palms.

Anna watched, spellbound, torn between watching the magic or watching the expression on Elsa's face, which glowed with the pride and joy of creating something so beautiful simply for her own entertainment.

Anna almost didn't want to disturb her, but hoped that the pleasure they could create together would give them both as much joy.

"Your powers are amazing," Anna said, sitting down on the bed to watch the miniature maelstrom between the two of them.

"Thank you," Elsa replied. She bid the snowflakes disperse and sent a few to float around Anna's face, gently tickling her as they dissolved.

Anna grinned at her, elated to see Elsa smiling that genuine smile of joy and looking right into her eyes. She leaned in and kissed Elsa on her perfect lips, just briefly. It was the first kiss Anna had ever given and sharing it with a goddess made it the most intensely beautiful moment of her life, at least for now.

"If I'm your bride, let's truly join together as wives," Anna breathed, desperate to taste those Divine lips again. Their touch had stirred desire within her, Anna could feel it beginning with a throbbing heat down in her core.

"Only if you want to," Elsa said, feeling arousal awakening within herself, but placing Anna's own wishes ahead of her own, so much did the goddess of winter cherish her bride.

"I do," said Anna, and stood to unclasp her dress and let it fall to the floor, discarding her old life and all desire to return to it, wanting only Elsa.

Elsa took in Anna's unclothed beauty, more glorious to her than any sight her Divine eyes had ever beheld. Her curves, her freckles and her red hair - the patch between her legs as well the tresses cascading around her shoulders as Anna undid her braids - all captured Elsa's heart.

Elsa looked into Anna's face again and saw a blush spread across her cheeks when she made her own ice gown vanish.

Of course, Elsa's body reflected her heavenly nature. Her skin was pure white, her hips and waist curved gracefully and her breasts were full, round and perfect.

Anna felt passion beyond anything she had ever imagined when she gazed at Elsa's perfect form.

Their eyes met and both felt their connection, deeper than that of simple physical desire, surpassing anything that either of them had felt before.

Elsa gently took hold of Anna's waist and pulled her onto her lap. Their mouths united again and Elsa slowly stroked her fingertips down Anna's spine, while Anna cupped her face in her hands.

Their tongues brushed against one another, provoking little moans from each before Anna traced her hands softly over the smooth skin of Elsa's neck and further down until she reached her breasts.

The touch of Anna's warm hands on her sensitive nipples made Elsa break the kiss to gasp for breath.

Anna squeezed slightly, feeling the goddess' nipples stiffen, thinking she had never felt anything so satisfying as making Elsa feel good. But she had still not even begun to experience the true pleasure she and Elsa were destined to bring each other to.

Elsa kissed Anna again, more hungrily than before, moving down to lightly kiss her neck, her shoulders, her collarbone and finally settling on her ripe, freckled breasts. She clamped her hot mouth over one of Anna's nipples and suckled on it, making the redhead moan as she increased the pressure and swirled her tongue over its sensitive tip. Elsa gave the other breast the same attention while she heard Anna begin to come apart by the sound of her cries.

She released Anna's breast, judging that they were both ready for the next stage in their union. But first Elsa paused to enjoy the feeling of being so close to Anna, their warm soft flesh pressing together.

Anna looked deep into Elsa's eyes and gazed in wonder at the beauty in front of her. Elsa thought the same before quickly kissing her on the lips and pushing her away slightly.

Her breathing ragged with her arousal, Elsa used her magic to create an ice shaft, fusing it with her flesh so it projected from her folds and rubbed against the sensitive bundle of nerve endings at the top of her sex. She cupped the firm cheeks of Anna's behind and guided her into position.

Gripping the goddess' shoulders, Anna slowly lowered herself down onto the ice, pushing it right up into her. A high-pitched whimpering moan escaped Anna's lips as she felt herself being filled with Elsa's magic and Elsa's love.

Anna stayed there for a few moments while the ice melted in the heat of her core and mingled with her juices, making it move more easily when she lifted herself.

Elsa looked down to see the ice dripping with Anna's essence and from the heat of both their womanhoods; she knew it would remain in time for them both to reach their release, Elsa could tell that neither was far from obtaining it.

Anna brought the ice further into her again and found a rhythm as she slid it repeatedly in and out of herself, aided by the sight of Elsa, seeing her pale flesh flushed with passion and her lips parted, feeling the goddess' panting breaths against her skin.

Elsa watched Anna's every little movement, saw her breasts bouncing with each one, heard her every breath and moan, which all combined to make the sensations of the ice even stronger as Anna pressed the other end of it against her with each of her thrusts, firing every pleasure centre throughout Elsa's being. Her cries came freely as Elsa felt herself tighten and ascend to the peak of pleasure, the intensity of her and Anna's love taking both of them to heights of ecstasy that neither had ever dreamed was possible.

Anna leaned into Elsa once their shared pleasure had released its hold on them. She and Elsa looked at each other, still feeling the aftershocks of their climax ebbing away. Both Elsa and Anna knew that not just passion united them, it was something much deeper, beyond even the goddess' vast knowledge. Both simply knew that they had found the one they were meant to be with until the end of time.

Elsa made the remnants of the ice between them vanish and, embracing each other fully, she and Anna sank onto the bed, each cradled in the other's arms, until they were both overcome by sleep.

Elsa and Anna awoke to a new life together, fully joined as they now were, the goddess and her consort. They ruled together, forgetting everything else, and the eternal winter raged on in the mortal world.

Anna's friends sought her in vain, but gave up to secure their own lives. Anna's suitor had followed her trail into the forest and died when the storm descended.

But in Elsa's realm, she and Anna lived and loved together as Queen and Consort of Winter, losing themselves in their adoration of each other. Without Elsa's attention on her powers, her realm began to encroach on that of the mortal, escaping through the storm she had created. The boundaries of the two worlds mingled as did she and her lover.

The Chief of the Divines turned his eye towards his earthly realm when winter extended beyond its seasonal bounds; such imbalance had not been known for many ages.

He saw the conduct of his deviant daughters - for sisters they were, both being his creations, one Divine, the other mortal, yet united by the same essence that dwells in all - and judged them.

He divided the seasons again to restore the natural order. The father of gods and men punished Elsa by taking her bride so she would have no distraction from her duties, keeping her powers in control and only bringing winter when it was its time.

He parted the two lovers, keeping them separated for six months of the year, but since absence makes the heart grow fonder, Elsa's love for Anna thawed the eternal winter she had brought and ensured it would never return.

From then onwards, spring and summer were always sad seasons for Anna, forced to return to the mortal land alone. But she drew comfort from her secret, that she had the protection and love of an immortal, making Anna immortal herself, even if the life she spent in the human world felt hollow without Elsa by her side.

But in winter she could live again. Every year without fail, once she had almost lost all hope and her heart grew dull, Anna would open the windows of her house and smell the chill of winter on the air, knowing that her goddess would claim her again soon.

Anna would stand in the first snowfall, feeling the flakes settle gently on her ginger eyelashes, and await the embrace of her own Elsa, her Divine wife, whom Anna loved more than all the mortal world could offer her.

Elsa and Anna's love grew even more powerful with each reunion. Every year they were separated and reunited, facing heartbreak and pain, yet also joy and love, love stronger than anything.

This Anna and Elsa went through each year, just as in a million different universes in a million different lifetimes, countless Elsas and Annas endured their own separations in many forms, but also rejoiced in their own reunions, with love reigning triumphant through all.


	5. Myrrha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS FOR INCEST THROUGHOUT AND BRIEF SUICIDAL THEMES. IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, THEN LEAVE!

Queen Elsa was born with a curse. At least, that's what she thought of it as now. But when it had first appeared on the day her younger sister Anna came into the world, Elsa had seen it as a gift; the gift of love.

Elsa loved everything about Anna. She loved her eyes and their shades of green and blue, changeable and beautiful as the ocean. She loved Anna's freckles, which increased with every summer as she grew; Elsa tried to count them but there were just too many, as many as the stars in the sky, but infinitely more beautiful to Elsa than even those heavenly wonders.

Elsa loved Anna's red hair, its colour so warm and bright, the perfect contrast with her own pale gold tresses.

She loved Anna's smile, how Anna could light up a whole hall with her laughter alone, and Elsa especially loved how Anna would only reveal the true splendour of her smile if it was aimed at her; Elsa was the only one who could bring her sister genuine joy.

Elsa loved the very essence of her sister, her determination, exuberance and passion, the spark that made her Anna. Elsa watched her every day of her young life and saw her uniqueness form itself and grow.

And when she was old enough, Anna loved Elsa, too. Anna adored Elsa's grace, her every movement elegant and refined. She loved the delicate whiteness of Elsa's skin, pure white except for only a faint sprinkling of freckles across her cheeks, dimly matching Anna's own.

Anna loved Elsa's care and dedication to her happiness, she was always there with Anna to support and guide her, every day as far back as Anna could remember.

Neither Elsa nor Anna identified these exact details in their childlike adoration, of course. The two sisters simply loved each other truly, completely and unconditionally. They were inseparable companions throughout their childhood.

But as she grew, Elsa's love for Anna did too, and it began to change. She liked kissing Anna more often. Elsa would hold her sister in her arms and stroke her hair, she would spend every night in her bed, entwined in Anna's embrace, feeling their bare skin brush together, the beating of their hearts and the rhythm of their breathing, knowing instinctively that there was more they could enjoy together beyond their current bond.

At the advent of her adolescence, Elsa was educated in the ways of love, taught what a married wife would do with her husband, or two wives or two husbands together.

Her intelligent mind made the connections between her love for Anna and her developing desires. Elsa realised how her love for her sister differed from everything she had learned, the bonds of family at the same time joined her and Anna closer together than such acts, and yet prevented them from truly knowing and loving each other in the way that Elsa wished.

She struggled hard against her passion for Anna. Elsa beseeched all the gods in the heavens, all the forces of natural affection and the sacred ties of family to defend her from committing any sort of crime against them or against Anna, if loving her in such a way was indeed a crime.

When she recognised her curse, Elsa withdrew for Anna's protection. She was already being groomed to rule so it was not difficult for Elsa to give up playing with her sister, to say she was too busy and hide in her work, even if her heart and soul found it excruciating.

Yet Elsa still saw Anna every day at the royal family's evening meal. She would sit as far away from Anna as possible, only exchanging pleasantries with her and speaking when spoken to. Their parents and the constant presence of servants reminded Elsa that she could not afford to reveal her dark secret which would turn them all away from her, make them see her as a monster and cast her out.

She tried her best to conceal that she was avoiding Anna. Since the sisters had always been so close, shunning her completely would arouse suspicion, Elsa couldn't let them know.

She did not isolate herself, yet never got close, never touched her sister. Elsa made excuses when Anna asked to play or spend time with her, saying she was too old to play anymore and that she had to prepare to be the heir. Their parents were proud of Elsa's dutifulness but would have disowned her if they knew the real reason she was avoiding Anna.

Anna gave up asking and contented herself with their daily meetings, comforted by Elsa's presence, if not by her conversation; Anna would talk at Elsa, not caring that she barely replied.

And each evening, Elsa  _would not_  watch the way Anna took her spoon into her mouth, or bit into ripe fruit, or licked her lips...

Elsa concealed her desire but could never remove it, so deeply embedded into her it was, woven by the Fates into the very fabric of Elsa's being.

But she told herself to take heed while she was free from actual sin and not to nurse any thought about attempting to make her dreams a reality.

Elsa knew that Anna was good and always did what was right and just; she would never agree to satisfying Elsa's unnatural needs, even though she loved her sister. Elsa reminded herself that Anna was not  _in love_  with her, could never love her in that way, even though Elsa wished she could. But Elsa was also glad that Anna couldn't because it meant she was alone in her desire for their unlawful union, alone in her unnaturalness.

Meanwhile, the King and Queen, unaware of Elsa's suffering, began to seek a suitable match for her.

Young men desired Elsa and contested with one another for the privilege of courting the beautiful heir to Arendelle's throne, but Elsa found men repulsive; she paid them no attention and none of them got anywhere with her.

Elsa found women pleasing, although she never cultivated anything beyond friendships, since the only thing they did was highlight their imperfections compared to Anna.

When Elsa's parents summoned her and listed names of suitors to try and encourage her to make a decision, first she was silent and then fixed her eyes upon her sister's portrait that happened to be hanging on the wall. Elsa felt her emotions rise to the surface and her eyes filled with hot tears.

Her mother, supposing this to be just Elsa's maidenly modesty, dried her daughter's cheeks and silently remembered her own youth.

"What kind of a consort would you like, Elsa?" her father asked, trying to be gentle.

"One like Anna," she replied through her tears.

Her father smiled. "See that you're always so devoted to your sister!"

At his words, Elsa cried even more.

Elsa studied the laws of her land, and was saddened that the concerns of her ancestors had created such harsh restrictions against things that the natural world permitted and other lands encouraged. She heard tell of nations where siblings married, natural affection increased by a twofold passion, doubling the bonds of love...

Elsa cursed the chance that had made her and Anna be born in Arendelle, where such unions were unheard of.

And she told herself to stop thinking of such things. Elsa knew Anna deserved to be loved only as a sister. It was because Anna was already Elsa's that she could not belong to her. The very closeness of their relationship was Elsa's misfortune, she knew she could not defile the holy ties of love and duty that bind sisters together.

She kept all her suffering a secret, struggling to keep it each day, not letting it show.

But Elsa's love for Anna was only intensified by the tragic, unexpected death of their parents. Anna was now the only one to share her blood in this world, and the connection called to Elsa instinctively.

Now Elsa was Queen, she buried her passion in her duty, yet did not give up her mealtime meetings with Anna. She saw each one both as a punishment and an attempt to cure herself, to try and control her feelings and see Anna as a normal sister would. But it never worked and Elsa left each meal feeling heartily sick of her very being for harbouring such desires, especially now she was Anna's guardian as well as her sister.

Through all this, Princess Anna was left to her own devices. She had her own secret to keep. Unbeknownst to Elsa, or anyone else, Anna felt the same; like two halves of a whole, the sisters' love for each other had grown in tandem.

Anna's passion had developed in just the same way as Elsa's, and she also knew she had to keep it hidden.

But Anna was desperate to express it. She could not direct her love to Elsa, since they were never alone together anymore, so Anna found other ways to deal with her lust.

Anna took lovers who reminded her of Elsa, to distract her from the sister she knew would never return her feelings. She started with men, one was regal like Elsa, one was fair-haired like Elsa, but Anna quickly found that men could not satisfy her. So then she tried women, exclusively blondes, Anna insisted upon it, even though she met most of them in pure dark rooms so she could imagine the girl she joined with in pleasure was Elsa.

All this helped Anna to cope but never truly filled the void within her that ached for Elsa's touch, Elsa's kiss, Elsa's loving glance...

Elsa's passion never lessened. Despite her royal duties to distract her, Elsa remained desperate for Anna. She was sickened that her memories of when she used to kiss and hold her sister now aroused her. Elsa delighted in the pleasure those memories gave her, then berated herself for the delight.

Anna's passion never lessened either. Tomorrow it would be Midsummer and also the Princess' birthday. Anna would spend the event looking for a special lover, determined to find one as close a match to Elsa as she could. There would be many maidens gathering in the town for the celebration, more maidens to help her fill the gap left by Elsa's distance, Anna was looking forward to it.

Elsa looked forward to it, too, but only because she had decided it would be the day her suffering would end, on the day of Anna's birth, the day this had all begun.

It was just past midnight, a few minutes into Anna's birthday, and sleep had dispelled the cares and eased the minds of the mortal world.

But Queen Elsa was kept awake. She was preyed upon by the unconquerable flame of her love for Anna. Pacing back and forth in her chamber, Elsa examined her life as it was.

True, she had health and beauty, a peaceful and prosperous kingdom to live in, but all of it was useless with the burden of her secret love for Anna.

Elsa wanted her suffering to end, to escape from her fate, unaware that if she followed the path laid out for her by Divine providence, she would be welcomed and joined by Anna and together it would lead the sisters to their ultimate form of pleasure.

In her ignorance, Elsa continued to feel shame for her love and resisted her instincts. Half of her despaired and saw no hope and the other half was desperate to test her sister's feelings, knowing it would give her a reason to live if they matched her own. At once, she was both ashamed of her desires and eager to fulfil them, deeply ashamed to go against nature, to even consider polluting Anna in such a way, yet still desirous.

Elsa was beginning to falter in her royal duties of late, unable to cope with the pressure of ruling as well as the pressure of her lust. She did not ask for help, so shamed she was of her dilemma; Elsa did not want anyone to know her true identity, that she was a monster who desired her own sister.

She wanted to free herself and free Anna, blissfully unaware of her older sister's lust towards her; Anna would be a much better ruler, unencumbered by such desires, so Elsa thought.

But she did not know what to do. Just as a mighty tree wounded by an axe and awaiting the final stroke wavers, uncertain which way to fall, so wavered Elsa's mind, shaken by her passions.

At last, she decided to put Anna's needs before hers. Elsa could see no end for her love but death, no other respite from it, so she was determined to die to keep Anna safe from her desires, safe from her monstrous lust.

Elsa stopped pacing and stood still, feeling almost as if she was in a dream, so numb was her every action. She had decided to take away her breath and her life and tied a belt to the top of the strong frame of her four-poster bed.

Elsa felt the need to address the world and opened her mouth to utter what she thought would be her final words. "Goodbye, Anna," she said, louder than she intended, in a voice of pure despair. "I hope you'll never learn the reason for my death." Then she fitted the noose over her head, tugging it down to her pale neck.

Fortunately, Gerda, the royal sisters' old nurse, happened to be walking through the halls to make sure all was well for the night and heard Elsa's heartbroken words. She opened the door and screamed to see her eldest charge whom she had raised as lovingly as her own daughter, rushing to stop Elsa before she could tighten the garment and let herself drop.

Gerda, strengthened by the fire of maternal love, took Elsa in her aged arms and tore the belt to pieces before it could leave a single mark on the Queen's snow-white skin.

Elsa threw herself face down onto the bed, shaking with her sobs, grieved that she had been too slow and hesitant, that she had forgotten to even lock the door and had been caught in her attempt to end her own life when she had just summoned the courage to do it.

Gerda lifted Elsa, who she still saw as a little girl, cradled her against her chest and cried with her, but from anger, too, that Elsa would even think of throwing her precious life away.

"Tell me," Gerda said when they had both recovered as much as they were able. "Tell me what is troubling you and let me help you, Elsa. I am old, but not useless." She waited for a reply, determined to find out, but received silence.

"If you're sick in your body or your mind there are doctors who can cure you," Gerda continued. "If you're struggling to rule then I can arrange for wise advisors to help you..."

Elsa remained silent.

"What else can it be, Elsa?" Gerda squeezed the girl's shoulders in her desperation to know. "Your kingdom and your fortunes are safe and prospering... Your poor parents may have gone but your sister is alive and well..."

Hearing the word "sister," Elsa sighed from the depths of her heart, but even then Gerda had no suspicion of her guilty secret, though she guessed it was some affair of the heart.

Stubbornly resolved to have her own way and learn Elsa's troubles, whatever the cause, Gerda continued her entreaties. "Elsa, please tell me! Are you in love?"

Gerda took Elsa's silence and her refusal to meet her eyes as proof.

"You are in love, I can tell! Don't be afraid, I'll help you, no matter who it is. Nobody else, not even your sister will know anything about it!"

At this, utterly distraught, Elsa tore herself from Gerda's embrace. "Please go away, Gerda! Spare me my one final secret, at least!"

"But how can I help unless you tell me? I won't let you try to hurt yourself again! Tell me what's wrong, Elsa, please!"

"My secret is something unnatural," Elsa said. "I can't tell you."

"Well," Gerda replied, frustrated by Elsa's refusal to share her troubles. "I'll tell everyone about what you just tried to do!"

"No! I..." Elsa was overcome by tears again and let Gerda guide her head to rest on her shoulder and stroke her hair. Elsa tried to confess, but each time she checked herself or found the words simply wouldn't come. The only thing Elsa could manage to say, her voice hollow, was: "I wish... she wasn't my sister."

A cold shudder ran through Gerda and shook her to her very bones when everything connected and she guessed the truth. The sisters' childhood closeness, Elsa's sudden avoidance of Anna... It just made sense.

Gerda started back from Elsa, feeling uncomfortable touching her now she knew Elsa harboured such desires.

"Elsa, you're just confused," the nurse began, trying to rationalise what she could not understand. "You never let anyone in! You need to know the love of someone else, find a husband or find a wife, take a concubine!" Gerda thought of the lovers she knew Anna met with, but thought it best not to mention that to Elsa.

"No!" Elsa protested, disgusted by the very idea. "I could never be with anyone other than Anna..." She felt tears well in her eyes, even after she thought they had dried up. "I'd rather die!"

Gerda saw she was serious and knew Elsa would try to end her life again if she could not find a way to help. "No, Elsa, you shall live. You shall be with your - " The nurse couldn't bring herself to say the word "sister." "I swear I will help you, Elsa."

"And no one will ever know?" Elsa asked, meeting her old nurse's eyes at last, seeing kindness in them.

"No one. Not a single soul other than myself will ever know your secret, Elsa. I promise."

Gerda waited at the Queen's bedside until Elsa fell asleep and passed into troubled dreams. Gerda would try her best to give Elsa what she wanted. Even though it went beyond her morals, Gerda would do anything to try and make Elsa happy again.

The old nurse woke Princess Anna the following morning, opening the window to let in the warm air of the fine Midsummer's day.

"Happy birthday, Your Highness! It's time to get ready for the festival!"

Anna yawned and stretched, waking up at the sound of Gerda's voice and the hum of people in the castle's courtyard.

Gerda could see them all through the window. "It looks like this year's festival will be even bigger than the last! There are already so many people gathered down there!"

"I can't wait to meet everyone!" Anna said, and took the clothes Gerda handed to her. "I just hope I meet The One this year..." she added, before getting dressed.

Anna often told Gerda about her lovers and her search for the perfect girl. She needed to have someone to talk to about it and Gerda had always been a faithful friend as well as a servant to both girls; she just wanted to make sure Anna and Elsa were happy and did not judge what brought them their happiness.

But Anna never said she was searching for a girl who was a close enough match to Elsa that she could take her mind off her real desire... Anna knew she would never return such affections, being the dutiful, serious Queen and sister that she was.

Gerda saw her opportunity to help Elsa. She almost couldn't believe what she was doing but anything was worth saving the Queen's life.

"Actually," the nurse began," I know a girl who is in love with you, Princess. She'll be at the festival tonight. She's very beautiful..."

Anna's interest was piqued. "Is she tall?" she asked, trying to see whether this girl met her list of requirements.

"Taller than you, Your Highness," Gerda replied.

"Is she fair?"

"Yes, her hair is as light as spun gold and her skin as pure white as winter's first snow!"

Anna approved so far, although she knew she wouldn't even see the girl's features even if Gerda could convince her to spend the night in Anna's bed.

"How old is she?"

"The same age as Elsa," Gerda replied, hoping she hadn't given too many clues as to the girl's identity.

"And she's in love with me?" That detail Gerda had mentioned was particularly enticing, the only feelings during her usual unions were those of pure lust.

"Yes, Princess Anna. Completely and utterly!"

Anna pondered all this while she did her hair and decided that since it was her birthday, she deserved to take this chance.

"Gerda, bring her to me tonight, while everyone is celebrating at the festival. Prepare the usual room for us, please."

"Of course, Your Highness! She'll be so happy!"

Anna thought this was going to be the best birthday present. She already had a picture of the girl in her mind, just like Elsa, but with the benefit of not being her family; the perfect distraction from her sister. Anna went down to the town to see how the preparations for the festival were taking place and began to count the hours to its start.

Gerda went about her work and visited Elsa in her study as she was passing.

The Queen looked at her guiltily when she entered, remembering the events of last night and that Gerda now knew her secret, but the old servant smiled happily at her.

"Don't look so sad, dear! You've got what you want!" she exclaimed. "Tonight you can meet with the Princess! It's all arranged. I'll take you to her room during the festival. But don't worry, it'll be completely dark, she won't know who you are!"

Elsa felt joy welling up inside and thanked Gerda before the servant left her alone again. Yet Elsa's joy was not whole-hearted; her mind was still conflicted, guilt still dwelt within her, but her love and desire were beginning to triumph.

She looked out of her study's window at the sun shining over the fjord and thought that maybe there was hope after all... Even if her feelings weren't returned, Elsa could at least get them satiated.

Elsa felt anticipation take hold of her. Tonight she was going to do what she had only ever dreamt of and wished for, to join with her sister in passion, give her pleasure, know pleasure herself... But now there was only the matter of how she was going to pass the hours until their meeting.

The festival was the liveliest Elsa had ever seen. The traditional Midsummer bonfires burned brightly and illuminated the dancing townsfolk and the musicians, all feasting, drinking and cavorting.

Elsa observed everything, but partook in nothing. She did not even drink the wine she looked forward to tasting each year. But this year, she hoped she would be able to taste something much sweeter, and she wanted the full use of all her senses for when she would join with Anna later, knowing it might be the only chance she ever got; she needed to remember it.

She watched Anna return from dancing to place her empty wineglass back on the royal table, then head furtively back towards the castle, not giving her sister a single glance.

Elsa knew where Anna was going and her heart leapt when she realised that soon she would be joining her. But she calmed herself, finished her meaningless conversation with the nobleman sitting next to her, waited a little, then walked the same way her sister had done, back to the deserted castle where the sound of the festivities was dulled by the old stone walls.

Elsa fussed about what she should wear, even though she knew they would be meeting in the dark. She decided to wear a simple snow-white dress like other maidens did at Midsummer, but with nothing underneath. Elsa loosened her hair from her braid and shook it out around her shoulders. She brushed it in front of the mirror, focusing on the routine activity to try and take her mind off her nervousness while she waited for Gerda to collect her.

Elsa realised as she looked at her reflection that this was the last time she would see herself as a pure maiden, she would be changed the next time she looked in this mirror, but whether for better or worse Elsa would have to wait to find out.

Three knocks sounded on the door and Elsa's hairbrush fell from her hand, clattering onto the floor. She stood up and knew there was no turning back now, this was the night that would change her life forever.

Elsa opened the door to Gerda, who smiled kindly and took her by the hand. She let the servant lead her, following with faltering footsteps, still stunned that this was really happening, that she was really going to lie with her sister at last.

They arrived at a hall on the other side of the castle, walking past all the doors it contained until there was only one left.

Elsa hesitated, knowing that behind that door Anna was waiting for her, yet unaware it was really her own sister she would be inviting into her bed. She felt deceitful, repentant, anxious to go back before she could risk being recognised, even if Gerda had reassured her Anna would never know the truth.

But Gerda led her on, tugging at her hand until they stopped outside the door. The servant knocked, heard Anna's muffled call of "come in" and opened the door slightly. Thankfully finding pure darkness within, she pushed Elsa inside and swiftly shut the door behind her.

The room was stuffy, hot and dark. Elsa's eyes tried and failed to adjust to the lack of light. Anna's voice interrupted the sound of her racing heart.

"You kept me waiting."

Elsa couldn't speak, not just because her mouth was dry. She had decided she would not say a word tonight, would not let her voice betray her identity.

"Come here." Anna's voice was low and sultry, a tone Elsa had never heard her use before which sent shivers down her spine. Elsa followed the sound of her sister's voice, hearing her breathing amplified in the dark; she thought the darkness fitting for their dark deed.

Her reaching hand was met by Anna's, their skin connected and Elsa trembled at the touch.

"You don't have to be afraid," Anna said kindly as she took the quivering girl into her arms. From the feel of her shivering breaths on her cheek, Anna judged her to be the perfect height and was in no doubt that this would be a night to remember.

Elsa felt Anna's soft body in her arms, pressing against her. She was naked already. Elsa knew she would see her freckles if there was light. She could smell the summer wine on her breath... Closer and closer... until the sisters' lips met in their first real kiss, clumsy, but soon growing in confidence. Elsa opened her mouth to Anna's and could taste the wine on her, a hint of extra sweetness to her already sweet mouth, as sweet as Elsa remembered it.

Time seemed to turn into an infinite abyss comprising of the sound of their mouths, the sound of their breathing, the soft caressing of their lips, until Anna pulled back.

She opened her eyes but could not see anything, not even an outline, since the room contained not one iota of light. Anna was disappointed, she wanted to confirm that the other girl was as beautiful as her lips felt, as beautiful as she imagined Elsa's to be...

Anna peeled off Elsa's dress, clinging slightly to her skin with sweat from the hot summer night, her fear and her desire.

They kissed again, their naked bodies melded together and Anna flicked her tongue between her lover's lips and into her awaiting mouth. Anna traced her body with her fingertips, building a picture of the other woman in her mind. She stroked the curve of her back, then down over her toned behind and thighs. Anna brought her hands up over her stomach, felt her flinch, probably ticklish... But Anna was not currently in the mood for playing. She touched her breasts, cupped them to feel their weight, Anna guessed they were around Elsa's size; this girl seemed to be perfect. Anna squeezed approvingly and rolled her thumbs over the nipples.

Elsa broke the kiss, gasping for breath at Anna's touch, yet united their lips again when she got used to the pleasure. Inspired, emboldened, Elsa reached up to touch Anna's breasts, softer than she had ever imagined, but Elsa wished she could see their freckles.

Her touch was gentle, Anna pressed herself against her lover's soft hands, slightly cool but not unpleasantly so. Anna moaned and pulled away to breathe freely, feeling their mingling saliva covering her lips. She paused, ready to taste more of this girl. Anna turned her around and guided her until she was lying back on the bed with Anna leaning over her.

In the dark, Elsa's whole world consisted of her sister's mouth and body against hers, the sound of her kisses and breaths seeming so loud and intoxicating. Anna's hot mouth moved down over her neck, her throat, briefly between her breasts. She kissed and caressed each one, tenderly licking each nipple. The sensation went straight to Elsa's centre, she could feel it, hot and throbbing, aching to be touched... Anna hadn't even touched Elsa there yet, but Elsa felt it almost as if she had, she whimpered, desperate and pleading wordlessly.

Anna's fingers caressed her legs, stroking the soft hidden skin at the backs of her knees, her touch was everywhere, everywhere except where Elsa wanted it the most.

Anna traced her hipbones with her lips and tongue, then kissed and licked along her inner thighs, feeling the heat of her lover's centre against her cheeks. Anna could smell how aroused she was. She leaned over, between the other woman's legs, and inhaled her delicious scent, feeling her lover writhe under her at the sensation of Anna's hot breath on her sex when she exhaled. So sensitive...

She decided to give them what they both wanted. Anna dipped her tongue slowly into her slit, finding the taste of her simply divine. She licked up the length of her sex, covering her tongue in her lover's sweet juices.

Elsa could tell Anna had obviously done this before, she knew exactly where to lick, her tongue tracing every fold. The soft sounds Anna's tongue made were nearly as arousing as its touch, but Elsa could no longer hear them over the sounds she realised were coming from her own mouth.

Elsa did her best to control her cries, to make sure the "ah"s that escaped her lips didn't turn into "Anna"s, but she fell apart, unaware of anything else when her sister hit the right spot at the top of her sex, that sensitive little point of pleasure, touching it with her tongue so much that she...

Elsa felt white-hot passion wash over her, almost seeing colours in the darkness, such was the power of her love for Anna now that they were together at last, even in secret.

She lay shuddering and recovering until she felt Anna's mouth on hers. Elsa was surprised by the change in taste until she realised it was herself she was tasting on her sister's lips. Elsa lay stunned, almost unable to believe that something more sensual than she had ever imagined was actually happening, until Anna took her hand and guided it downwards.

Elsa's palm brushed against short, curling hair, then she felt hotness and wetness on her fingers. She found Anna's entrance and slipped a finger inside, coating it in her essence.

"More!" Anna moaned, writhing with her touch.

Elsa slid a second finger into her sister, stroked the smooth, soaked flesh inside her secret place, loving how Anna's warmth surrounded her fingers and the gasps her movements provoked. Elsa was thrilled to be touching Anna at last, but also worried that she would not be able to give her as much pleasure as Anna had just made her feel. She slid her fingers out.

Anna whined when she did so and Elsa was unsure what to do, never having done this with anyone before and barely ever by herself. Luckily Anna guided her again, leading her fingers up through her folds until they pressed against her hardened nub of nerve endings.

"There," Anna directed, breathily. "Harder!" Anna thrust against her fingers to encourage her as she found a rhythm. "Yes!" she exclaimed, feeling the pleasure building with her lover's touch.

Elsa kissed Anna's neck and touched her breast with her free hand. She felt her sister writhe, heard her cries of pleasure, felt her grip her shoulders before relaxing. Elsa couldn't see her face but could feel the smile on Anna's lips as she kissed her when she had come down from the ecstasy Elsa had just given her. And Elsa was overjoyed that at last, she had given Anna the love she had always wanted to.

Anna snuggled into her, pulling her lover down into an embrace, holding her close. The scent of her hair was familiar to Anna, but she couldn't place it.

"You should probably go," Anna said, reluctantly, when she sensed the other girl relaxing; she knew they should not spend the whole night together, even if she was curious to discover her identity. "But thank you," Anna added, with a brief squeeze of her arm.

Elsa left the bed and silently groped around on the floor for her discarded dress, slipping it on when she found it. She headed for the door.

"Wait! What's your name?" Anna asked when she heard the handle turn, but it was too late, her lover had already left.

Outside, Elsa checked no one was following her and went back to her own room as quickly as she could, aching as she did from her amorous exertions.

She locked the door and looked at herself in the mirror to see how she had changed. Elsa's hair was mussed, her face flushed, her lips redder than normal and her eyes almost glowed with the bliss she felt; her previous self was but a shadow in comparison.

Elsa brought her hand to her face and smelled the scent of Anna still on her fingers. She licked them and savoured the flavour of her sister's essence, sweeter to Elsa than anything she had ever tasted before. She met her eyes in the mirror and smiled at her reflection. Elsa had not seen herself so joyful in a long time. For once, she was happy, she had satisfied her secret desires and Anna didn't know, Anna had enjoyed it, too. Their twofold pleasure was more powerful than anything Elsa had ever been able to do alone.

How her fortunes had changed in a single day... Elsa was glad to be alive for the first time in many years. She slept well that night, reliving the memories of her sister's touch in her dreams.

Gerda woke Anna again the next morning, curious to see how she was after the previous night.

"Gerda, that girl..." Anna began, as she dressed herself.

"What about her, Your Highness?" Gerda asked, cautiously, worrying that Anna had somehow found out the truth.

"Can you tell her to meet me again tonight? She was... perfect." Anna found it strange to think such a thing about someone other than Elsa, but it was true.

"Of course, Princess Anna!" the servant replied, suspecting that Elsa would be only too pleased to repeat last night's tryst.

Anna could not stop thinking about her mystery lover. Anna wanted to know her, not just physically, she had to know who she was, to know everything about her, the girl who had brought her such pleasure...

The Princess secretly placed a candle and matches in her room, hiding them under the cushions of the bed, ready to discover her lover's identity.

That evening, the sisters dined together, as usual, only this time Elsa let herself really look at Anna. She looked at her fingers holding her spoon, pushing her food around on her plate with it. Elsa remembered the feeling of Anna's touch last night, connecting the sensations with her sister's hands and mouth as she could see them now.

Anna bit her lip as she stared at the table and Elsa was curious to know what she was thinking. Now that Elsa had expressed her desires - at least secretly - and had learned what her sister felt like inside, she wanted to know her mind, too, and found it easier than before to summon the courage to speak to her.

"Anna, did you enjoy your birthday?" Elsa asked.

Anna glanced up briefly and saw her sister's shy smile. Normally she would have been elated to be spoken to by Elsa, would have seen it as hope that they could at least reconnect their childhood bond. But Elsa would never be able to make her feel like her mystery lover did, Elsa saw her simply as her sister and her heir.

"It was better than last year," Anna replied. She felt no desire for talking or eating, hungry only for the taste of her lover's lips, of her secret place... thinking of the pleasures to come that night.

Anna pushed back her chair and left without another word to Elsa.

Elsa knew something had changed between them but could not identify what it was. She  _knew_  Anna had enjoyed last night, Elsa had no doubt in her mind about that, but she wondered what had caused her distraction... Elsa was sure she had done nothing to reveal herself, was certain that Anna would not be able to connect her with their dark, secret deed...

The Queen passed the next few hours alone in thought until darkness had fallen over the kingdom.

With the darkness came Gerda, who knocked at Elsa's bedroom door.

"Princess Anna wants to meet you again, Your Majesty," the old servant said once she had entered the room. "She wants you there right now, in the same room as yesterday. You know the way," Gerda added before leaving to go to her own bed, happy with the knowledge that Elsa would get to know secret pleasure for another night.

Elsa was not expecting such a request and had to pause to gather her thoughts, struggling to do so over the thudding of her heart.

Hurrying, not wanting to keep her sister waiting, Elsa undressed and put on the same simple dress as yesterday. She retraced the journey to the darkened room, this time not hesitating or faltering, knowing now that Anna was eagerly awaiting her embrace, knowing now the pleasures that they would feel together.

She knocked on the door and heard her sister's voice on the other side a moment later.

"Come in," Anna called, her heart jumping at the sound of her lover's arrival. She saw a brief flash of a female silhouette when the door opened, but it closed too quickly for Anna to see anything else.

Anna sat on her bed in the darkness, feeling the presence of the other woman in the room, feeling herself stir with anticipation and arousal already. Anna could hear the sounds of her bare feet on the floorboards, the soft sounds of her breath... And at last they were touching again.

Anna pulled her close and held her, breathed in the scent of her hair, kissed the soft skin of her neck and behind her ear. She trailed light little kisses along her jawline until their mouths met, hot and wet in the darkness.

With their sense of touch heightened by the dark, the two sisters' tongues entwined, mingling their breath and their saliva, their connection deepening every second they stayed like that, neither knew how long it lasted.

Anna lay back on the bed, pulling her lover on top of her, surrounding herself with her scent and the soft press of her body.

Elsa kissed her sister and moved her hands down her body. Anna was wearing a nightgown, unlike last night, but it was no obstacle. Elsa touched Anna's firm breasts, squeezing her nipples through the thin fabric, cutting off her cries of pleasure with fervent kisses.

Anna may have been clad in a nightgown, but she was not wearing underwear, which Elsa discovered when she pressed her naked thigh between Anna's legs and felt the hot wetness of her sister's womanhood awaiting her attention. Anna moaned, grinding against her leg. Heat and pressure jolted in Elsa's own core in response.

Too eager to bother with undressing, Elsa moved down to lift Anna's nightgown and buried her tongue in her sister's moist folds, losing herself in the heat and the taste of her.

Anna's breath hitched, she threw her head back in pleasure, but before she let herself get lost in the amazing sensation, she remembered what she wanted; Anna had to know who her lover was, had to see her face.

Before the pleasure became too much, Anna reached under the pillow and took out the matchbox. She struck a match.

And then Anna saw that between her legs lay someone who she never would have expected: her own sister, with her lips wet from Anna's juices, blinking in the new light of the flame, stunned.

"Elsa?" Anna breathed, unable to believe her eyes.

Her sister looked up and met her gaze for a split second, fear and pain and devastation in her wide blue eyes from her horror at being caught.

Elsa fled as fast as she could, she scrambled off the bed, turned and flung the door open.

"Elsa, wait!" Anna called before she left. She shook out the match and sprang off the bed. Anna ran after Elsa, she could not lose her when she realised she now had her at last, had what she had always wanted.

Elsa ran through the castle, looking like a phantom in her white dress, illuminated by the light of the full moon. Tears flowed freely from her eyes with shame and humiliation. Elsa could hear Anna following her, calling her name, so she ran faster.

She ran out of the castle, through the open gates, through the silent town. Elsa did not know where she was heading, but she could still see and hear Anna running after her and knew she had to keep going, despite her aching legs and lack of breath.

Elsa entered the forest, knowing she could lose Anna in there. Into the maze of trees she ran, the tall trunks like silent sentinels, their long shadows cast by the moon's rays.

She kept going for as long as she could, but at last, thoroughly weary in body and soul, Elsa found a hollow tree, its gap large enough to hide her. She stepped inside and leaned against the bark, waiting for her heart and breathing to calm, praying that Anna had lost her trail.

Elsa cursed her foolishness, she should have known Anna would want to find out who her lover was, her sister had always been intelligent and inquisitive... Elsa knew she shouldn't have risked it... Now everything was over... She prayed for a quick and painless end to it all.

Guided by their dual bonds of love and blood, Anna was drawn to where Elsa hid. Instinct led her to the hollow tree where she saw her sister silently crying, pale in the moonlight behind them. It illuminated her hiding place, shone on her tears and her light golden hair.

"Elsa..." Anna had so much to say but was struck almost speechless by Elsa's beauty.

"I'm sorry, Anna," Elsa began, anticipating punishment. She flinched back against the tree when Anna approached, wished she could sink into its bark to escape. "I love you... and I'm sorry..."

"You don't have to apologise," Anna said, desperate to stop her sister's distress, gladdened to her heart that her long-hidden feelings were returned. "You did nothing wrong. I love you, too, Elsa. I always have." Anna touched her hand. Now that she knew the soft skin she felt was her beloved sister's, a jolt like lightning ran through her at their contact.

Now that Elsa could see Anna when she touched her, Elsa felt it, too. She looked into Anna's eyes and, for the first time in years, let herself appreciate just how beautiful Anna really was.

They remained like that, simply gazing at each other, neither knew for how long until Anna closed the gap between them and pressed her lips to Elsa's, softly and sweetly.

Anna drew back and could see Elsa's nipples through the thin white fabric, she saw a blush suffuse Elsa's cheeks, and desire in her eyes.

Elsa pulled her close, bringing their mouths together again, her tongue sought entrance between Anna's lips and was greeted by her own, renewing the previous passion of the bedroom, strengthened by their mutual knowledge of the other's feelings.

Anna's hands wandered, pressed her sister's breasts, travelled down and lifted the skirt of her dress. She broke their kiss when she felt Elsa gasp as her fingers found the sensitive little bud within her folds.

Anna returned to kiss her sister occasionally, but stayed back to watch her every expression, needing to see Elsa's face as she dissolved in pleasure, to actually see the passion she had brought her to last night, especially after seeing no emotion from Elsa for years. Anna slid first one, and then another finger into Elsa's hot, wet centre, then began to gently move them in and out as they grew slick with her essence.

Elsa managed to keep herself together enough to seek Anna's slit with her fingers and glided them up through her folds until she made contact with her pleasure centre.

Anna moaned, thrusting against Elsa's touch, and quickened the movements of her own fingers.

Elsa pushed hers up into Anna's core and mirrored her sister's movements within herself.

Both Elsa and Anna kept their eyes open, locked to one another's gaze, intense in their simultaneous passion, desperate to see how she could make her sister feel, even better than their pleasure in the dark last night now that their love was in the light and the open.

They tightened and quivered together, bringing each other, gasping and calling her sister's name, to the apex of their ecstasy.

As Anna and Elsa clung to each other when they felt their glimpse of Elysium fade, they knew that such beauty, such perfection could not be a crime. Fate, Divine chance had brought them together and they would receive no punishment for simply following the natural, pre-ordained progression of their love.

The two sisters knew that as long as they had each other, they had sanctuary. They could hide their love in the dark and in the night, keep it secret and keep it safe together, too precious for others to understand.

Elsa and Anna would live their lives with a twofold bond: to the public they would seem adoring sisters, no one guessing the deeper meaning behind their loving touches and glances. And in private Anna and Elsa joined together as lovers, bringing each other to pleasures unimaginable and beyond the comprehension of most mortal minds.

Both sisters and lovers, Elsa and Anna enjoyed the ultimate form of True Love, inseparable in this life and beyond, until the end of time.


	6. Echo and Narcissus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A request from neurotixx on fanfiction.net. This is how it turned out... Only very loosely based on the original but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Two young maidens wandered into lands unknown, hand in hand. Best friends and sweethearts, their friendship was blossoming into love as their bodies blossomed into womanhood.

It was as if they had been made for each other, so well-suited they were. Each complemented and completed the other, it was natural that they would come together in love, like two halves of a whole.

Elsa was pale of skin and of hair, demure in most company; some would say cold, but those whom she was close to and loved knew better.

Anna was fiery where Elsa was fair, she had red hair and sun-kissed, freckled skin. She was bold, gregarious, inspiring her friend to venture beyond her limits yet heeding Elsa's caution if they strayed too far.

But despite their differences, both possessed unique beauty and loving hearts, along with a passion for each other that was almost rivalled only by their passion for the world around them. Together Anna and Elsa found delight in even the smallest wonders of nature, their delight doubled by sharing it with the one they loved.

On their latest adventure, the two girls spent the day wandering in the forests and mountains surrounding their village, discovering new places, and each other as they did so.

In the woods, the dappled sunlight through the trees reminded Elsa of Anna's freckles; the flow of a small hidden waterfall made Anna think of Elsa's shining hair and the softness of her laughter. Both girls saw the one they loved in the world around them, which only increased their adoration and their joy of life and each other.

Night fell, covering the land in soft twilight, but Elsa and Anna had wandered too far to return to their village so they sought shelter where they could and found themselves in a deep valley.

It was a wonderful but eerie place, deserted except for the swirling steam that arose from hot springs here and there; warm and comforting, inviting the maidens to venture further.

Anna and Elsa reached a shallow cave carpeted with soft green moss. They judged it the perfect place to sleep, especially when Anna found two glowing crystals hidden at the back. She gave one to Elsa and they gazed at each other in the soft light, smiling and deeming the find a good omen.

They bade each other goodnight and curled up together, waiting for sleep to take them and carry them both to a bright new day.

In that liminal state between wakefulness and dreaming, sounds shifted, stirring the girls back to their senses, shaking the earth beneath them. Elsa and Anna's eyes opened to see stones rolling towards them. Springing to her feet, Elsa backed against the cave wall, pulling Anna with her, squeezing her hand and determined to protect her from the preternatural presence she could feel emanating from the rocks.

Then the stones morphed right in front the maidens' wide, frightened eyes. The boulders unfolded themselves into arms and legs and heads and stood up, strange stone creatures, approaching them with staring eyes.

"Trolls!" Anna exclaimed, as if naming them would make them any less dangerous; both she and Elsa knew that trolls ate people, or cursed them, stole their memories...

The two girls stood petrified and waited to see whether they would escape with their lives or be forced to endure a fate worse than death...

They had trespassed into the Valley of the Living Rock, uninvited, unwelcome. Two small trolls took back their crystals from the girls' bag and made way for an old troll, the oldest of them all, their leader.

He regarded the two frightened girls and with his mind as old as the mountains, decided to let them live; he felt forces far beyond even his power protecting them.

"You two girls are lucky," he said in a voice of inhuman depth and strength. "We will not take your lives, but you shall not leave here whole."

The troll shot a blast of magic at Anna and Elsa, twisted their beings to punish them.

Elsa clutched her chest, feeling cold tendrils of magic creep into her heart, numbing it, freezing it.

Anna struggled to breathe and grasped her throat as she gasped for air, the troll had frozen her voice.

In agony the two girls felt the magic reshape their inner forms, though not touching their outer selves, unable to move.

They felt the ground tremble as the trolls rolled away, hearing a noise they couldn't identify, either the creatures' laughter or the noise of the stones, until they were alone again.

Anna was the first to recover and looked at Elsa with concern, wanting to ask whether she was all right but not trusting her voice to work after the pain from the magic.

Elsa stood upright and turned to Anna. "Why are you staring at me like that?" she asked, the curse was working already, all trace of love was gone from Elsa's frozen heart. "Take me home!"

"Home!" Anna repeated at her. The word came unbidden from her lips when she tried to reply. She could say nothing else even though she tried, nothing but silence.

"Do you know the way?" Elsa demanded.

"The way?" Anna echoed, clutching her throat again, desperate to gain control over her words.

Elsa scowled, an expression Anna had never seen aimed at her before. "If you can't say anything useful then leave me alone!"

"Leave me alone!" Anna said, then clamped her hands over her mouth in horror.

"Fine! I will!" Elsa replied, then turned on her heel and strode away from her friend.

Anna started to follow her, but faltered after a few steps, knowing Elsa had changed, did not love her anymore... And Anna could not speak to find out how she could change her back.

Anna was left in tears, wishing the trolls had taken her life instead, anything was better than seeing the one she loved walk away in anger.

She wandered forlorn in the mountains and forests, never daring to visit her home again, fearing further rejection if she did, unable to face Elsa's cruelty again.

Despite her heartbreak, Anna was kind and good to all she met, a friend to animals and other lonely inhabitants of the woods, who in turn helped her to survive. But Anna never spoke, since she could only repeat.

Anna never forgot Elsa; her world was empty and hollow, colourless without Elsa's love and Anna was broken. Yet there was still a tiny fragment of hope deep within her, too deep for Anna's conscious mind to recognise, that kept her living, intuitively guiding her back to her one true love.

Elsa returned to the village alone, a shell of the girl she had been, with anger and cruelty inhabiting the places in her soul formerly ruled by love.

All noticed her change of heart. All noticed she was not with Anna.

"She told me to leave her alone, so I did," Elsa replied when asked what had happened.

All knew something was deeply wrong but had no way to find out. The village sent search parties into the wilderness, but in vain, they found no trace of Anna. Eventually they gave up hope and accepted that she was not coming back, silently mourning the loss of one of the most beautiful girls they had ever known. But they were thankful that they still had Elsa... even if she was like her in looks alone.

Five years passed. Elsa became a cold-hearted hunter, she killed her prey swiftly and efficiently without remorse, not like Elsa of old; the girl she had been was incapable of harming any living thing.

Her memories of Anna lay dormant, resurfacing only in dreams which would leave Elsa confused, unable to understand their connection without the ability to love.

But the day came for their curse to be lifted. The time was right at last, after five long and painful years apart, Anna and Elsa met again.

Elsa was travelling with a group of hunters in the wooded northern mountains, but she strayed, separated from the others by chance, fate, providence... Elsa lingered alone and that was when Anna saw her.

Anna had been wandering alone, too; aimlessly, yet unwittingly directed by destiny. She halted in her tracks when she saw a figure she thought she would never see again.

Elsa had grown taller, her figure had filled out and was displayed by the hunting breeches she wore. A woman's body, as was Anna's now they were both older. Elsa's expression was stern and severe, but she was still Anna's Elsa and when Anna saw her she had to fight back her tears and the urge to go and tell her how beautiful she looked. Because Anna knew she couldn't, the troll's curse still had its hold over them both.

She stealthily followed Elsa's steps, and the more Anna followed, the stronger the flame of her love burned. The memories of their childhood together glowed within her, gave Anna hope of renewing their relationship, but she also remembered their last meeting and how Elsa had spurned her...

Anna told herself to simply watch. But she longed to call out to Elsa, to say her name, yet the curse prevented her; all it would allow Anna to do was return Elsa's own words, which she awaited.

They both wandered through the forest's foliage, Anna stepping silently, making no sound to alert her beloved, until by chance, Elsa broke the silence, giving Anna what she needed.

"Is there anyone here?" Elsa shouted, hoping to alert her fellow hunters.

"Here!" Anna answered, yet remaining hidden, waiting to judge Elsa's reaction.

Elsa heard the voice clearly close by, but when she cast her eyes around she could see no one, so she persisted, suspecting deception. "Stop hiding, let's join each other!"

Anna could not have answered more willingly even if she had chosen her own words. "Let's join each other!" she replied, and suited her actions to her words, thinking, hoping and wishing that Elsa had returned to her former self. Anna rushed from the woods and went to throw her arms around her beloved's neck as she used to.

Elsa jumped out of her grasp, not warmed or moved by Anna's beauty or her gentle touch.

"Take your hands off me!" Elsa exclaimed. "I won't let you or anyone else love me!"

Anna answered nothing but: "Love me." She saw Elsa was still not herself, that the curse still controlled them both. Anna's eyes clouded with tears as she saw Elsa's anger, heard her cruel words, the opposite of her old self, so loving and willing to be loved...

Rejected, Anna retreated to the woods and hid her tearful face in the green leaves, but her love remained, her ever-strong need to be with Elsa. She hid again and followed the blonde, watching.

There was a clear lake, the surface of its unsullied waters shining like silver, undisturbed by bird or beast. Between a meadow and the woods it was hidden, the stillness of the place seeming almost holy in its beauty and its peace.

Here Elsa, fatigued both with the labour of her travels and the heat of the midday sun, sat down and, while she was endeavouring to quench her thirst, another thirst took hold of her.

When leaning over the water to drink, Elsa caught sight of her own reflection and invoked another facet of the troll's enchantment, unrealised until now. Her frozen heart trapped her, meant Elsa could appreciate only her own beauty, no other's.

Elsa gazed at herself in the water, the shape of her mouth, the colour of her eyes, and in her enchanted state, she coveted herself and saw her desire returned. She pursued herself and was pursued in turn, seeing the same desire to be touched, kissed and held in the face she saw beneath her.

The cruel curse of Elsa's frozen heart was to know no real love, to feel for nothing but the shadow of herself, to never be loved by the thing she desired, to lose it if she simply turned away. If the curse had its will, Elsa would forgo all forms of sustenance to stare at herself and the ice in her heart would consume her, freezing her solid forever. But thankfully this was not to be, Anna and Elsa had the Divines on their side.

Elsa still had the love of her soulmate, the troll's curse could not lessen Anna's love, even if it had numbed and twisted Elsa's.

Seeing the old kindness on Elsa's face, Anna decided to try one final time and attempt to regain the relationship she needed to keep living. She silently crept up behind the one she loved, unnoticed by Elsa in her distraction.

"I wish we could be together," Elsa said to her reflection, reaching towards the water. "You are so beautiful..."

"So beautiful..." Anna said, leaning over to meet Elsa's eyes, to see her reflection, too.

But Elsa did not notice her until Anna's tears dropped into the water; the ripples they created disturbed the surface, broke up the image.

Elsa turned to see who had caused her reflection to leave her.

"You again!" Elsa exclaimed when she laid eyes on Anna. She got up to run away, the curse naturally reacting against the love that emanated from Anna. But in her haste, Elsa stumbled, lost her footing and tripped, clinging to Anna to break her fall, brushing their lips together unintentionally.

But that one sweet touch was all that was needed to lift their curse, since the power of a True Love's kiss is the strongest magic of all.

Elsa pulled away, steadied herself, stared at Anna as she regained her true nature.

Anna felt different, she could see a different look in Elsa's eyes, the spark she had waited to see for so long. And Anna found she could truly breathe again, truly live; the last five years dissolved to nothing in the flame of her and Elsa's love.

She had not truly spoken in so long but Anna found the name of her lover came to her easily at last. "Elsa?" she whispered.

Elsa, who had not felt love for so long now felt her heart thud with passion and recognition when she looked into Anna's eyes. "Anna?" she replied, recalling both all the love they had known together in the past and the painful memories of the way she had acted. "What happened? I was so cruel... I'm so sorry, Anna!" Tears spilled from Elsa's eyes.

"Elsa, that wasn't you," Anna assured her, with forgiveness in her voice. She wiped Elsa's tears away but felt her own cheeks dampened. "We were cursed," she explained, remembering the trolls. "But now it's over and I'm so glad you're back!" She caressed her lover's precious pale face in her hands before she felt them clasped by Elsa's.

"Anna, I love you," Elsa said, pouring all her newly-remembered love into her words.

"I love you," Anna echoed, repeating it only because it was true.

They kissed, joining their lips together again and again, never being able to have their fill of the sweet sensation, but when Elsa and Anna had satisfied themselves for the moment, they looked down at the beautiful pool next to them and their two reflections gazing back, side by side, truly complete.

"I think it looks better with both of us," Elsa commented, remembering her foolish fixation with her own image.

"Me too," Anna agreed, smiling to see Elsa look at her with kindness again.

Elsa gazed at Anna, thinking that she was more beautiful that her reflection, more beautiful than anything she had ever seen. Elsa picked a flower, one of many that surrounded the lake, and gently placed it behind Anna's ear, where its pale yellow petals and orange centre mirrored the contrasting colours of their hair.

"You're beautiful, Anna," she said, wondering how she had even survived without seeing her beloved's face for so long.

Anna took a matching flower that grew by her side and tucked it behind Elsa's own ear. "So are you, Elsa," she replied.

They could gladly have stayed staring at each other forever, but there was so much that they wanted to do together, to create new memories and replace their painful ones.

Elsa began to unbutton her shirt and discarded it, then stood to peel off her breeches, taking off the clothes from her life as a hunter, not who she really was. Elsa longed to get back to her own nature, back to Anna.

Wanting to share her lover's unclothed state, Anna removed her own garments, and, naked as Nymphs, she and Elsa slid into the pool and swam in the limpid water.

As they bathed, the two young women washed away the pain of the last five years of their lives and emerged anew, joyous and together.

Anna and Elsa stood in the shallow lake and admired the other's beautiful feminine figure as the water dripped off their hair and formed droplets on their skin.

Anna had grown more freckled and tanned, her body toned from her wanderings of the last five years, the muscles in her arms and legs were slightly more defined than when Elsa had last seen her friend unclothed, and she thought Anna was the most beautiful sight her eyes had ever beheld.

Anna thought the same as she looked at Elsa's perfect form, the soft blushing complexion of her cheeks mingling with the snowy whiteness of the rest of her. Elsa leaned in to kiss her lips, feeling them yield and meld with her own.

Both were reluctant to break the kiss, such pure bliss they both received from their connection, but when they did, Elsa and Anna joined hands and waded to the shore.

Together they lay in the meadow, drying in the sun, feeling its warming light filling them even more with love for life and each other, inspiring them to express it.

"Elsa, I missed you. More than anything," Anna said, tears welling in her eyes as she remembered the heartache she had suffered and how she would have given the whole world for this moment back then. She was so thankful to the Divines for restoring her and Elsa to each other again.

Elsa leaned over her lover, elated to be reunited with her soulmate, though she had not known it until their love had lifted their curse. She tenderly touched Anna's face, craving contact after knowing she had not felt it for years. "I missed you too, Anna. Deep down, I know I did." Elsa kissed her, the touch of their lips gentle at first but soon gaining confidence and passion.

She opened her mouth to Anna's, holding her freckled face closer and moaning when their tongues met and caressed each other, softly and wetly. Elsa felt desire stir within her, felt her love for Anna almost overflow her very being and was worried about overwhelming her. She lay back, her breath quickening, but Anna leaned over her instead and gently pressed their lips together again.

Elsa renewed their kiss, her tongue hungrily stroking Anna's. She was desperate to join with her, to make up for the time they had lost, time that should have been spent loving and exploring each other. Elsa held Anna close, their breasts pressed together and she whimpered at how wonderful it felt to be reunited.

Anna placed her leg between her lover's thighs and shuddered at the pleasant sensation of the warmth and wetness of Elsa's sex pressing against her.

Elsa broke their kiss to moan, then spread her legs wider and placed her hands on Anna's hips, guiding her until she had fitted her slit with her own.

The heat from both of their cores together drew soft moans from each girl, feeling the pleasurable pressure within them grow as they writhed together; pleasure beyond anything they had ever felt, ever dreamed they would feel.

Elsa saw Anna's face above her, flushed with passion and elation, gazing at her with such love. Her whole world became pleasure, pleasure radiating from Anna.

Anna looked down at Elsa, glad beyond everything to have her back; she had wished for this moment of joining together for many years, and now she was able to speak the name of the woman she loved, call it in adoration at last. "Elsa!" she breathed, then laced their fingers together and gripped.

"Anna!" Elsa called in reply as a final thrust from the redhead's hips brought them both to their peak and pleasure washed over them, washing away every trace of the curse and the sorrow that they had felt.

They could have stayed entwined in that meadow forever, repeating their unions again and again, but eventually the sun's light faded, even though Elsa and Anna's love did not and never would.

At last, they dressed and returned happily to the village of their birth to begin the rest of their lives together in wedded bliss, free from all sorrows, with the bond of True Love to guide and protect them.


	7. Endymion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A suggestion from glittering-snowfall on ff.net. It's short because unfortunately there's not much written about this myth. The opening phrase is from Keats' poem.

A thing of beauty is a joy forever, and in her long and lonely life governing the night sky, the goddess of the moon had at last found the one whose beauty she wished to gaze upon for the rest of eternity.

Elsa had seen countless wonders in the light of her moonbeams as she surveyed the wide earth. She had witnessed all the ages of mankind, seen the rise and fall of empires, had been worshipped by powerful queens and fair princesses, but the first and only human to capture Elsa's immortal heart was a shepherd girl.

The youngest daughter of her humble peasant family, Anna had the dull duty of watching the sheep for the night, but usually succumbed to sleep herself before her watch was even half done. Yet the night and the land were kind and she and her flock were safe from all dangers as they rested in the rich green swards of Arendelle's pastures.

Elsa first saw her so, with her braided ginger hair resting on her soft chest, gently rising and falling with her breath.

Even in the darkness Elsa could see Anna's colour; her bright hair, her red lips curved in a faint smile as she dreamed of pleasant things...

Elsa wished she could join Anna in her dreams, wished she could see her awake. True, the goddess had seen the girl awake in the many nights she watched her, but it was never for long; the young maiden's eyelids soon drooped with boredom and weariness and when they did, Anna would curl up in slumber and pass the rest of the night in her dreams.

Elsa was jealous of her golden-haired brother who ruled the day. He got to spend the daylight hours with Anna, got to see her awake; he could not appreciate her unique beauty. Elsa was jealous that he had given Anna freckles and her sun-kissed skin...

But tonight Elsa was going to give a gift of her own to the girl who made her Divine heart glow with passion.

Elsa watched Anna from on high and slid from heaven to earth. She went to kiss the girl who slept unaware that her power had drawn down the immortal, pure goddess of the moon to her in rapturous love.

Through the indigo sky Elsa journeyed, on her carriage pulled by two pure white steeds, glowing with a silvery aura, brighter than snow.

The goddess descended to earth in her human form, only for tonight. Her body was flawless, her dress sparkled with the essence of the stars, her hair was like moonlight; Elsa was the celestial incarnation of her Divine beauty and most mortals would have given their lives to be in her presence.

Elsa left her horses and chariot, left them to find their own amusement, to be summoned at her thought when she needed them next.

The sheep were safe, sleeping silently under the trees and Anna lay a little way off, under the open sky on a soft grassy hill.

Elsa loved how she looked when she slept. Up close, she could see every one of Anna's freckles, the faint blush of her cheeks, she could hear the rhythm of her breathing.

Anna sighed and turned towards Elsa in her sleep, subconsciously sensing the goddess' presence.

Just one kiss was all Elsa wanted to take, a precious little memento of this beautiful mortal girl that she could treasure forever. The goddess knelt down on the soft grass beside her. Elsa leaned over Anna and paused to feel her soft, sweet, rhythmic breath against her face before pressing her perfect Divine lips to the sleeping girl's.

Softness and sweetness... Anna felt herself tugged to the surface of consciousness by those two sensations. Being woken by a kiss from a goddess was the most sublime experience of Anna's life.

She opened her eyes to see two deep blue ones gazing back at her, the beautiful face they belonged to mirroring the wonder in her own mind as she stared at whoever had just kissed her.

The woman possessed an ethereal beauty beyond anything Anna had seen before. Her braided hair was a shade of the lightest blonde and caught the moonlight in a way that almost dazzled Anna. The luxuriant braid fell over one shoulder, leaving the other side of her fair neck exposed; the first thought to pass through Anna's mind while seeing it was that she wanted to kiss the delicate skin there.

Anna turned her eyes to the woman's blush-tinted cheeks and the half-smile on her lips, lips that Anna knew were exquisitely soft.

Elsa backed away, intending to leave now Anna had woken, wishing she had not been caught taking a kiss without permission, hoping the girl would not be displeased.

Anna gripped her pale hand, the skin of her palm just as smooth as her lips, her gentle touch lingered.

"Why are you going?" Anna asked, leaving the goddess almost lost for words with the longing and burgeoning love she heard in her voice.

"I- I only wanted a kiss." Elsa cast her blue eyes down for a moment and looked back at her through her blonde lashes. "I'm sorry I woke you..."

"Stay with me," Anna said, smiling at her. Their two lonely souls called to each other, connecting with their touch, the bond between them strong already on only their first meeting.

"I have to be gone before the dawn," Elsa replied, bound by her Divine duty but deciding she would spend every minute of the night with this beautiful maiden.

"Stay," Anna said and pulled Elsa on top of her, kissed her with her languid lips.

Anna had still not left the hold of sleep, her body was sensitive to every touch and the press of the other woman against her stirred her arousal; the shepherd girl had never known the touch of one so fair as Elsa.

She kissed the goddess' neck, the scent of her skin was cool and fresh, softer than Anna had imagined. She felt Elsa stroke her hair, her fingers cool and firm, yet gentle as the soft moonlight they were both bathed in. Anna wanted her touch to soothe the growing heat between her legs...

They did not need to know each other's names to know their connection, to know that they were destined to join together on this night, if not every night from now until the world's end...

Anna caressed the curves of her lover's hips, reaching round to undo the clasps of her dress. When her hands made contact with the smooth bare skin of her back, Anna shuddered at how beautiful the sensation was.

Elsa sighed softly and sensuously against Anna's face, desperate to feel the touch of their naked bodies together. She pulled away from Anna to take off her dress, revealing her pure white skin like a cloud uncovering the brightness of the moon.

Once the thin fabric was out of the way, there was nothing separating Anna from Elsa's perfect Divine body. Her breasts were round and full and so, so soft when Anna cupped them in her hands. Almost even more sensual was the little gasp Elsa gave at Anna's touch, which pressed her breasts towards her palms.

Anna could have stayed like that forever, caressing Elsa's heavenly flesh, feeling her sweet fluttering breath on her face, but she gladly let to go lift her arms while Elsa tugged off her tunic, baring her own breasts for the goddess' attention.

Elsa pressed her lips over Anna's freckles, wanting to place her own loving marks on her beloved. She fondled the sensitive flesh of her breasts, delicately licking each nipple with her warm tongue.

The ache between Anna's thighs increased and she decided she wanted her lover's tongue instead of her fingers to ease it; Anna waited eagerly to see which she would use, her breaths coming quick and shallow with anticipation.

Elsa pulled down the other girl's breeches, revealing the patch of red hair on her crotch. She leaned in to kiss the coppery curls, feeling dampness on her lips from Anna's arousal, hearing Anna's soft little moans reach a crescendo when she extended her tongue to taste her.

And Anna's taste was sweeter to Elsa than Ambrosia itself. The goddess licked her lover's smooth, wet folds, provoking cries of pleasure with every movement of her tongue. She settled on Anna's sensitive nub of nerve endings, suckling on the hardened little bud, feeling the redhead tense beneath her.

Then, to Anna's delight, Elsa slowly slid a slender finger into her centre, slick with her essence and easily accepting the second finger that joined the first. She stroked inside her lover, curling her fingers to beckon her to her climax, savouring every sound that passed her lips.

Anna soon felt herself unravel and ascend beyond the earthly realm to the place of utmost pleasure, stronger than ever before with the guidance of her goddess.

When she regained her senses again, it was to the feeling of Elsa in her arms, tenderly kissing her face and Anna knew she had to show her gratitude for such an amazing experience.

Elsa did not expect her lover to want to pleasure her in return, but she gladly let Anna roll her onto her back and trail soft wet kisses over her breasts and her stomach.

Anna continued downwards, every inch of her lover's snow-white skin beautiful against her lips. She felt the golden curling hair of Elsa's sex and stopped to lean back and admire the goddess' most intimate area in all its glory.

Her lover's breathing heavy, Anna tenderly parted her moist, pink folds and slowly stroked up the length of her slit with her finger.

When Anna connected with her pleasure point and traced little circles around it with her fingertip, a soft, low moan escaped from Elsa's lips, and a second louder one soon followed it when Anna's tongue joined her finger, before quickly gliding down and flicking over her entrance.

Anna continued her ministrations with her fingertip and looked up to see what effect they were having.

The goddess' passion was a wonder to witness. Anna watched her lover shudder and writhe beneath her with the satisfaction that she was the one to cause her beautiful bosom to heave and her cheeks to glow with passion and her melodious voice to echo through the night with her moans.

After coming down from the height of her ecstasy, Elsa looked up into Anna's eyes, leaned up to kiss her slowly in love and thankfulness, then reluctantly rose to take her leave of her mortal lover.

They silently replaced their clothes, the fabric feeling rough against their skin compared to the kisses and caresses they had just enjoyed.

Anna took her hand as she prepared to turn and go, to return to the heavens alone.

"Please stay," the redhead implored.

And Elsa would have stilled the very rotation of the earth to be with this girl if she did not already know that they would meet again.

"I can't," the goddess said, not wishing to encroach on her brother's watch; the sky was already beginning to redden in the east. "But we'll see each other again tomorrow night." She squeezed Anna's hand, the love between them stronger than even Elsa's Divine foresight had predicted.

"Promise me," Anna said, looking into Elsa's eyes with the fire of love burning brightly in her own.

"I promise," said Elsa and tilted the mortal girl's head up to seal their promise with a kiss, as tender as the first she had given, then slowly wandered out of Anna's sight.

In a secluded forest grove, the goddess summoned her carriage to carry her back to her lunar palace, feeling sorrow at being parted, knowing that the day would pass painfully slowly, even for her.

But the promise of a goddess is never broken and Elsa passed the time in her immortal duties, craving Anna's company again, needing her now she had tasted her sweet soul to the core and shared her love with her.

Daylight and all the dazzling sights it brought were hollow for Anna compared to Elsa and her numinous beauty. She remained distracted as she helped her family, who noticed Anna's detachment, but were also surprised by her eagerness to watch the flock for the night; a duty she normally took with reluctance.

At last, darkness fell again. Anna stood on the same hill she had rested on the night before and watched and waited for her lover's return.

And return Elsa did, but not in a way that Anna was expecting.

Anna knew her lover of last night had been unique, more beautiful than any woman in the world, but to discover she was Divine stunned Anna with a jolt of awe and privilege, honoured to be the one chosen to receive a goddess' love and give her love in return.

Anna watched the celestial carriage descend from the skies and onto the smooth grass towards her. She caught Elsa's eye briefly and joyfully, then stepped forward to stroke the horses' smooth noses, more docile and yet a thousand times more powerful than any earthly beast.

She raised her freckled arms for Elsa to alight and the goddess rushed into her embrace, holding Anna close with a smile of pure bliss on her perfect lips.

They learned and loved everything about each other that night, and Elsa and Anna agreed to join together.

Elsa would take her to places she had never imagined and show her wonders to make her heart glow with the beauty the heavens possessed. Elsa would give Anna the moon and the sky, everything she had, needing only her love in return, reflecting it back at Anna as the moon she controlled reflected the light of the sun.

Elsa and Anna, goddess and mortal, wanted only to be together, but as time turned, they knew Anna would grow old, whereas Elsa would live forever.

So Elsa entreated her father, the Chief of the Divines, the father of gods and men, to alter the nature of her lover, give her eternal life.

And her wish was granted. With great joy ringing throughout the heavens, Anna joined Elsa in immortality. Their lives were better than any dream, their wedding was the most splendid that even the Divines had known and the fifty daughters they bore together joined the stars to rule amongst them. Elsa and Anna lived in beauty and joy forever.


	8. Actaeon

She slid off her soft, sleek gown of gossamer as blue as her eyes, as blue as the skies on a winter's day when she deigned to part the clouds.

Elsa stepped out of the pooled fabric at her feet before it was collected by an ice-nymph. Another nymph removed her shoes. Of un-melting ice they were, exquisite but strong. She freed her delicate feet and the goddess was naked.

Elsa gave a shuddering sigh at the sensation of freedom, feeling truly one with the world around her. The goddess' skin was as white as the snow she controlled, save a faint blush from the heat of the hot springs by which she stood.

A third nymph loosened Elsa's hair from her braid, let the silken light-blonde tresses lie around her graceful shoulders.

Elsa shook out the length of her hair, feeling it smooth and soft against her back, all the way down to her heavenly hips.

Only the eyes of her blue-haired nymph servants had the privilege to behold the goddess' beauty. They were silent and sylphlike, with sharp features, but their elfin charm paled in comparison to Elsa herself.

Elsa took a few steps forward into the hot water which reached her knees. The spring released more steam in contact with her skin, swirling up into the air before dispersing. But the water was not hot enough to even make her sweat; being the ruler of winter, Elsa did not feel temperature like any other.

The nymphs took urns and lowered them into the water, pouring the liquid they gathered over the goddess' flawless body until it dripped from her perfect skin and light golden hair.

She relaxed in the water while the storm she had summoned earlier began to awaken. Elsa was wearied with the effort, it was going to be a storm the mortal world would remember; the goddess would rest before it broke.

In the valley thick with pine trees the sacred hot springs lay, sheltered by an arch in the rocks of the cliff above. All was still apart from the steam silently rising. Here the goddess of snow and ice was wont to bathe her virgin limbs in the clear hot water, hidden from the sight of all mortals.

Elsa lowered herself to sit in the spring, feeling the heat of the water surround her up to her waist. For the moment, she could let it all go and enjoy thinking of everything and nothing until she had to return to her winter duties once again.

* * *

Anna knew she should not have come so far north. She had no luck with her hunt, despite her skill. The animals were hiding too well today, they could sense the storm in the air, something beyond even Anna's heightened abilities; she was only human, after all.

Her footsteps crunched in the snow as she continued onwards, scanning the ground for tracks, desperate not to return home empty-handed.

But even Olaf was tired, her hunting dog with wolf's blood in his veins. He looked up at Anna as he walked at her side.

Anna smiled down at her hound before looking ahead again. She stopped when she saw the sky darkening to the north, squinted when a strong, bitter wind suddenly arose, blowing back her hood, freeing her red hair.

Yet fear did not take hold of her completely. Anna knew the old lore; when a sudden storm struck, she needed to get out of the cold, go to the hot springs hidden in the woods where the vital heat would save her life. They were located deep in the forest - Anna remembered from her maps at home - towards the cliffs at the foot of the mountain.

Anna knew the lore but the legends had slipped her mind, the legend that went against the lore and said that the goddess frequented that sacred place and was not to be disturbed... She entered the forest.

Over the tangled roots, through the silent trees she stepped; with her hunter's skill, Anna made no sound.

When she approached the springs, Anna could feel the heat without even seeing them, she could feel it welcoming her, beckoning her onwards.

But Olaf grew scared as the trees began to thin. He halted, sniffed the air and whined before turning around the way they had come and waiting for his mistress to follow.

"Olaf!" Anna called, but he did not move. She marched over and pulled the dog by his collar to encourage him to continue, but he shook her off and ran away through the trees out of sight.

Perturbed by her dog's behaviour, Anna sighed but did not pursue him. There had always been a part of Olaf she would never understand, she guessed it was the wolf in him. Anna knew he'd find his way home, she had no doubt.

Anna continued alone, her Fate directing her. But suddenly she felt a presence, a tingling at the edge of her senses that said something was close, something... higher... Seeing the valley of the springs in front of her, she silently peeked between the branches.

And Anna saw a sight she never even dreamed she would be lucky enough to see. It was a scene of the most extraordinary beauty, more beautiful than anything Anna had ever seen before.

A woman was sitting in the water, covered up to her waist, a woman beautiful beyond words. Her expression was peaceful, her cheeks slightly flushed, her eyes closed.

Anna was so close that she could even see her thick, golden eyelashes resting on her cheeks.

She had light gold hair, faintly wet, that was long enough to trail in the water. The fair tresses flowed over her full breasts, which gently rose and fell with her breath. Anna knew her breasts would feel as soft as they looked, but couldn't tell where the thought had come from.

Other naked women tended her, but their hair was blue, as were their nipples. Their movements and their faces were uncanny, Anna could tell they were not human.

This realisation sent a shiver up Anna's spine. The blonde, clearly in charge, was too beautiful to be anything other than Divine, and Anna watched as her blue eyes opened. Her red lips opened, too, to murmur something to her servants. Anna stared and felt desire stir.

Elsa stood up from the water, revealing to Anna the rest of her flawless form; her graceful hips, her long legs and the area of short golden hair between them.

Anna felt a jolt of arousal strike her core at the sight, and a noise escaped from her lips, a little whimper of delight.

Blue-haired heads snapped towards her at the sound and the nymphs filled all the woods with sudden shrieks. They gathered around Elsa and covered her with their bodies.

But Elsa was taller and looked over their heads, a blush colouring her face like the light of dawn on snow. She knew they had sensed an intruder and Elsa was ready to punish whoever had peeked at her in her private place.

Two nymphs strode towards Anna, blasting back the trees with cold magic, revealing the red-haired huntress quailing in fear, knowing she had seen what she should not, strayed where she should not. Her hunting skills would be useless here, not that she would want to use them against such beauty, even if she could.

Elsa laid eyes upon the maiden who had spied on her and thought her fair, with her freckles and her fiery red hair. Mercy and something else stirred within the goddess.

The nymphs looked to her for orders, but Elsa dismissed them with a wave of her elegant hand. They vanished, blending with the steam of the spring.

Pure white hands on her perfect hips, Elsa decided to deal with Anna herself.

"Did you mean to boast of how you saw me without my clothes?" the goddess asked, her voice powerful and firm, but with a gentle edge.

Anna was afraid, but also very aroused to be addressed by such a beautiful being, naked and glorious... She remembered the legends of the goddess Elsa in her woods and knew them to be true. Anna averted her gaze.

"N-no, I came here by accident," Anna replied, her feisty nature remaining, even if much of her courage had deserted her. "I wouldn't have told anyone." She raised her eyes to meet those of the goddess.

Indeed, Anna would not have told of such a secret and precious sight as that she now saw. If she had not been caught, she would have treasured the memory and kept it to herself, to remember only in private moments alone in her bed in the darkness and secrecy of the night.

Elsa could see desire in her blue-green eyes, a blush on her freckled cheeks, and the goddess believed her. "Come here," Elsa ordered, and pointed to the water beside her of the spring in which she still stood.

Anna obeyed, honoured to get closer. She could feel the Divine radiance emanating from Elsa as she stepped into the hot spring. But the heat surrounding her legs quickly changed to cold when Elsa froze the water around them, freezing her in place.

"There's no need to do that, Divine One," Anna said, meeting the goddess' blue gaze. "I'm not going to run." And Anna was determined to stay, even if it meant she would meet her death here; to die by the hand of the goddess Elsa was the highest honour Anna could imagine.

The corners of Elsa's perfect lips twitched up. "You are bold," the goddess said, taking Anna by the chin and tilting her head up to search her teal eyes with her own ice blue ones, finding only a faint trace of fear deep within. "Tell me your name."

"Anna," she replied after a pause, losing herself in those deep blue depths.

"I shall not kill you, Anna." Elsa stroked her chin with her thumb.

Anna's lips parted, from both her soft touch and seeing Elsa's eyes heavy-lidded and dark with desire.

"I've decided on the perfect treatment for you, one that I suspect we will both enjoy."

Elsa's words sent shivers up Anna's spine, causing heat to stir within her centre and blossom in her cheeks.

Having seen into Anna's soul, Elsa judged her beautiful, a beauty matched in her face, with her freckles and her ripe lips... Elsa could see she was willing and eager, would be both an obedient and a confident lover.

Since why would the Divines have created the pleasure of sex if they could not partake of it themselves? Elsa had always been curious, but never found a mortal so intriguing until now.

She let go of Anna's chin and smiled at the noise she made, not quite a sigh; a gasp, a questioning whimper. She had thought Elsa was going to kiss her, wanted her to, desperately...

Elsa stripped her of her thick fur clothes with a blast of icy air to tear them off her body, discarding them along with the huntress' bow and arrows, leaving the redhead as naked as she was herself, finding her mortal form pleasing.

Anna shivered with the cold and felt her nipples stiffen. Elsa's eyes were on her and Anna was conscious of the contrast between their naked bodies, feeling inferior.

But Elsa regarded Anna as her equal in beauty, complementing her own white softness and grace. Anna was toned, freckled, faintly tanned, yet still feminine. She had curving hips and pert, round breasts that pressed against Elsa's own when she leaned in to kiss her.

The goddess' lips were soft, smooth and cool, yet the kiss was fervent. Anna's mouth opened to hers and Elsa flicked her tongue inside to briefly brush her own.

Anna was glad of the ice holding her up, her legs felt weak with passion. She held onto Elsa's slender waist to steady herself as she felt her heart racing.

Elsa gently bit down on Anna's lip before breaking the kiss, leaving the redhead breathless. Then Elsa brought her cold hands up to squeeze her breasts, feeling Anna's grip tighten on her waist.

In response the goddess took a nipple between each thumb and forefinger and let Anna feel a tiny fraction of her powers for a moment, freezing her own fingers and pinching the other girl's sensitive flesh, savouring Anna's high-pitched moan and feeling her body tense.

She soon moved her hands downwards, resting one on Anna's hip, letting the other wander through the ginger curls between her thighs and sliding a slender finger into her slit.

Anna winced when Elsa's ice-cold fingertip touched her cluster of nerve endings, teasing her most sensitive spot before withdrawing it. The boundary between pain and pleasure was thin; Anna could not tell which she was feeling but she wanted Elsa to continue.

Elsa kneeled down to look inside her lover. She took her cold thumbs and spread Anna's nether lips apart, finding the moist pinkness to be perfect, and the scent of her intoxicating. She deemed Anna the most worthy of mortals, the only one beautiful enough, brave enough and strong enough to be her lover.

She wished Elsa would bring her mouth closer to ease the ache that had begun at Anna's first sight of her and only grown since then. Elsa's lips were so close to her already, and Anna could feel the edge of the goddess' warm breath on her sensitive folds as she examined them. She gave Elsa a desperate, questioning glance when she withdrew her pale hands, speechless, yet trying to ask the goddess to grant her a release from the desire she was provoking.

But Elsa stood and removed the ice from around the mortal girl's legs, watching Anna regain her balance while her freckled chest rose and fell with her quickening breaths. Elsa sat down on the edge of the spring and spread her legs.

With a single look, one of Elsa's elegant eyebrows raised as Anna paused, the redhead knew what she wanted, and she was only too willing to oblige.

Anna got down on her knees to worship the goddess with her tongue. She felt the heat of the water surround her and flow between her legs, her slit tingling after Elsa's recent cold touch.

She beheld the glory of Elsa's golden-haired sex and leaned in to kiss it before sliding the tip of her tongue inside. The sweet, honeyed taste of Elsa's essence was the best thing Anna had ever known and she brought her fingers up to hold the goddess' lips apart while she licked at every inch of her slit.

Elsa's voice, Divinely beautiful as the rest of her being, rose in a moan of pleasure that thrilled Anna's ears, inspiring her to do her very best to bring the goddess to her ecstasy.

Anna glided her tongue up Elsa's sex until she reached the sensitive bud near the top. She circled around it before clamping her lips around the little nub and sucking hard. Anna felt Elsa shudder, heard her cries continue to rise.

Elsa had never experienced anything like it, not in the entirety of her long and heavenly life, and now she knew why her fellow Divines went to such great lengths to take lovers, although she also knew that Anna would be the only one for her.

Anna kept going, rhythmically circling Elsa's hardened bud with her tongue, occasionally sucking and grazing it with her teeth. She stroked her smooth thighs until the goddess gripped her hands - now warm and damp with sweat - and squeezed. She felt Elsa tense, heard her heavy, panting breaths transform into moans when Anna's actions tipped her over the edge and into ecstasy.

Anna removed her mouth and leaned on Elsa's lap, licking the juices from her lips while she watched the goddess' rapture. Sweat beaded on her pure white brow and her eyes were focused above, her lips parted with her gasps and moans.

Anna watched in pride until Elsa composed herself and her blue eyes met Anna's own, hungry and desirous now the goddess had felt such pleasure for the first time.

"You have a talented tongue, Anna," the goddess declared when she had regained her breath, her whole Divine body tingling with love for Anna. "Now, I have a reward for you." She let go of Anna's hands.

Anna watched as Elsa conjured a rod of ice, magically attaching it to her own centre; Anna could see the pink flesh that she had just licked through the clear ice and felt heat throb between her own legs, even hotter than the water she still knelt in.

"Take it into your mouth," Elsa told her, and Anna gladly placed her lips round the ice shaft.

Her mouth soon became accustomed to its coldness but the cold was not as pleasing as the heat within Elsa's folds; Anna thought it tasted better than normal ice, though not as delicious as Elsa's essence. She pushed the ice as far into her mouth as she could, up to the back of her throat, and Anna felt her core clench when she imagined Elsa's magic inside her there, filling her up...

Elsa's breath hitched when Anna twitched the ice against her, moistening it and melting it with her mouth, and again when she felt the heat of Anna's breath as she leaned closer to her crotch. Every movement of Anna's hot tongue on the ice felt to Elsa as if it went right to her core. Elsa's connection to her magic made this sensation differ from their earlier, physical touch, it made a different area of Elsa's Divine soul sing with pleasure.

Anna removed her lips from the ice, her mouth and tongue now pleasantly numb, and raised her eyes to the goddess'.

A silent look passed between them in which both Elsa and Anna understood that they had met the perfect match in each other, bonded by both passion and love. Both were ready to experience pleasure together, knowing that they could transport each other to realms of ecstasy beyond the wildest dreams of others, knowing their love would be legendary.

Elsa stood and lifted Anna up, swiftly and easily with her Divine strength, and laid her lover gently on the ground.

Anna whimpered, both with nervousness and anticipation when Elsa leaned over her; Anna had saved her virginity, she now knew for this very moment, and it was an honour to have it taken by the goddess. She spread her legs.

Elsa laced her fingers with Anna's, seeing her tenseness, and locked eyes with her as she eased the ice inside her, claiming Anna's maidenhead.

Anna gasped at the coldness and the unfamiliar pressure within her, along with the new feeling of pleasure stirring places she had never reached before. Warmed and wetted from her mouth, the ice slid in smoothly and filled up her centre in a sensation that was strange, but so, so satisfying. She gripped Elsa's hand.

Elsa's own breath hitched as her icy creation pressed against her sweet spot. She slowly slid the ice out before penetrating Anna deeper, feeling herself edging closer to a second climax with every movement as she continued to thrust the ice in and out of Anna's moist core and against her own pleasure point, especially when Anna began to buck her hips with her rhythm.

Anna watched Elsa's breasts bounce with her every thrust and at the sight of the goddess, combined with the pleasure of her magic stimulating every nerve ending inside her, Anna began to come apart.

A high, wordless paean from her lips blended with Elsa's cries of rapture as the two of them both reached their peak, more intense for Elsa the second time around because she was sharing it with Anna.

Thunder and lightning shook the sky above as the storm broke overhead, only that celestial sound loud enough to drown out the cries of the goddess and her lover.

Elsa and Anna's souls connected at that moment, the depth of their bond deeper than the knowledge of all but the most high could understand.

When their consciousness returned to earth, truly bound, truly naked together, Elsa knew that Anna would be made her eternal companion. The ice had completely melted from the heat of their shared passion, separating them, but Anna and Elsa were joined in ways more than physical now.

They sat together and Elsa took Anna's face in her hands to look deep into her eyes.

"Anna, I love you," Elsa said, her voice low and earnest.

"I love you, too... Elsa." It was the first time Anna had named her aloud and felt the sound on her tongue; after she had tasted her essence, she found it just as sweet. Anna brought her fingers up to lightly stroke Elsa's hair.

"I want you to join me in Divinity," said Elsa, and removed her hands from Anna's cheeks to summon a cup of Ambrosia.

"Drink this and you and I shall be together until the end of time," the goddess said, lifting the cup towards Anna's lips.

"There is nothing I would like more," Anna said. She placed her hands over Elsa's and sipped the glowing liquid. Words could not describe how good it tasted, Anna could only compare it to the taste of the goddess herself.

After she had swallowed the Divine elixir, Anna felt her senses expand and evolve and powers awaken within her. She no longer felt cold or heat, just energy surrounding her and flowing through her. Anna stood, naked and newly powerful; she could feel the essence of life all around her and when she closed her eyes, Elsa's aura was blinding in its beauty.

Elsa stood, too, and presented Anna with Divine accessories; gifts from one goddess to another, one lover to another. Anna was meant to have them, as destiny decreed.

She dressed in a new, short hunting outfit, the fabric shimmering green and blue to match her eyes. Anna equipped herself with her magic bow and quiver full of arrows, then called Olaf, her hound. She could feel his presence from miles away, but he joined them in the blink of an eye and accepted Ambrosia from Elsa to become Anna's immortal hunting companion.

Anna was gifted with Divinity that day, raised up on high to be the goddess of the hunt, for the skills she had displayed as a mortal.

Anna and Elsa became partners in the heavens, mighty goddesses together for eternity. They would lead the Wild Hunt together every winter across the stormy skies. Beautiful, powerful and warmed by the fire of their mutual love.


	9. Orpheus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING FOR DEATH.
> 
> Contains Norse influences.

It was supposed to be the happiest day of Elsa's life. And when the dawn greeted her with its rosy light it seemed it would be, because it began as a day of wondrous beauty.

Elsa had been waiting for this day for a long time and when she awoke she knew it was going to be perfect.

People said that she was the luckiest young woman in the whole of Arendelle, even the whole world. Elsa was certainly known throughout the world. She had a gift that some called magical. Elsa had the power to create beautiful music, poetry and songs. She had a voice that many said gave them a glimpse of the heavens, and her music inspired all who heard it; her work could reduce even the most cold-hearted to tears.

As well as this, Elsa was beautiful. She was perfect from the top of her light-blonde head down to her snow-white feet. Many who saw her swore they would forsake all forms of love since Elsa could never be theirs.

But Elsa also had a beautiful soul to match her flawless body. Goodness radiated from her like her beauty and no one who encountered her could fail to be moved.

Yet all this meant nothing to Elsa. There was just one thing that mattered to her, more than her music and her fortunate life, and today it was going to happen at last. Now she would become complete. Today was Elsa's wedding day.

Anna was her bride, her love, her everything. Some said the two maidens were like ice and fire, both from the colours of their hair and their personalities; Elsa was quiet, soft-spoken, graceful, whereas Anna could be boisterous, loud and feisty.

But in as many ways as they differed, Anna and Elsa also matched, most of all in their love for one another. And so it had always been, from childhood sweethearts to today, and would be forever.

Elsa had met Anna on the very day she was born and when the little red-haired baby had tightened her tiny fist round Elsa's finger, she had known Anna was going to be the most important person in her life.

Since that day, Elsa and Anna had been inseparable. They had grown up together, Anna in awe of the beautiful older girl who thought the world of her, who made up songs to make her smile, who was always there to protect her, Elsa in amazement of Anna, loving her laughter and her loyalty, how she put passion into everything she did.

And friendship had grown into love. Tenderly, gradually and beautifully, Anna and Elsa had progressed from holding hands, to their first kiss, to asking for the other's hand in marriage.

Now Elsa couldn't wait to meet Anna at the temple today to make their love official in the eyes of gods and men. She couldn't wait to begin their lives together and give Anna all of her love.

Elsa got up from her bed, with the realisation that this was the last time she would ever do so. Tomorrow she would wake up in Anna's arms in their new bed, in their new house, after a night of indescribable sweetness that Elsa was awaiting with great anticipation...

She put on her new white wedding dress and admired herself in the mirror, knowing she looked perfect, knowing Anna would agree.

Elsa's mother entered the room bearing flowers and bread and honey. She joined her daughter sitting in front of the mirror and ate with her, feeling Elsa's excitement, hearing it in her voice, seeing her blue eyes sparkle.

She looked at her little girl, now a grown woman and going to leave her childhood home to start her own life. For the last time, she brushed her daughter's beautiful blonde hair until it shone brighter than ever, then looked at Elsa's smile in the mirror and placed the wreath of white flowers on her head.

Feeling her heart fluttering as she realised it was time, Elsa took her mother's hand and they went downstairs together.

Her father was waiting by the front door, pride and even tears in his eyes when he saw his beautiful daughter descend the stairs. He softly squeezed her shoulder when she came up to him, not answering her greetings, not trusting his voice. He silently took hold of Elsa's other hand and opened the door for the three of them to walk out to the temple.

Everyone in the street had been waiting to see the bride. People leaned out of their windows, stood in their doorways waving, shouting their good wishes and throwing flowers. And when Elsa turned her beautiful smile towards them, the townsfolk thought it was like a blessing from above.

In the temple, everyone Elsa loved had gathered, all of her and Anna's family and friends, even the King and Queen, who were the guests of honour, come to give their blessing for the royal bard's marriage.

Her parents let go of their daughter's hands to take their seats and the temple's choir began singing an arrangement that Elsa had composed herself.

The sweet music stirred Elsa's soul and echoed the feelings in her heart when she walked towards the one she loved most.

Anna looked radiant in her white dress with her red hair loose, not in its usual braids; it flowed to her waist, utterly lovely.

She felt as if she had not seen Elsa for years, even if it was only for a day that they had been parted, as the tradition required, and when she saw her bride now, Anna thought Elsa looked more beautiful than she had ever seen her, but then Anna thought that every time she saw her beloved. She reached out for Elsa's hand and sighed at the familiar sensation of Elsa's touch.

Anna and Elsa joined hands at the altar and the beautiful ceremony began. The two brides bound themselves together under the eyes of the Divines, and the eyes of many of the people watching overflowed with tears witnessing Elsa and Anna's love for each other.

But all ignored the omens of sorrow, they should have been saving their tears for the things to come. The cloudless sky thundered when the brides kissed to seal their vow, and it was not quite drowned out by the cheering guests.

Yet no one paid it any heed. The ceremony was complete and the King had invited the bridal party to his castle for a spectacular feast. The temple filled with joyful voices as everyone accompanied Anna and Elsa to celebrate their marriage.

The procession walked happily through the town to the castle and it seemed that every citizen had come to greet them and get a glimpse of their wedded bliss.

The candles in the castle's Great Hall went out when the newlyweds entered, but this sign, too, was ignored and the King just laughed as he ordered them to be lit again to see the faces of the beautiful brides, to see the joy of everyone.

And the Hall was brightened again for music and merriment, dancing and drinking while the feast was prepared. Elsa and Anna were going to sit at the high table with the King and Queen themselves.

The brides danced, with flowing hair and dresses, elegant movements and tender caresses, the smiles never leaving their faces, Elsa's eyes never leaving Anna's.

But dancing begets thirst and soon Anna reluctantly let go of her wife's hand, reaching after her as she did, letting her touch linger as long as she could, to go and quench her thirst. Elsa watched after her fondly, then turned to accept the congratulations of some of the guests.

Anna wandered through the crowd, smiling politely at everyone until a little blond cup-bearer stepped forward with a goblet on a tray. He grinned sweetly at Anna's beauty and her kind smile as she took the drink and ruffled his hair.

She sipped the liquid as she walked back to join Elsa, seeing her standing tall and fair amongst the crowd. Elsa's dress and her hair and her skin were so white they almost seemed to glow.

Elsa smiled when she saw her, and Anna smiled back, even though her face felt numb. But her hand wasn't numb when Elsa took it and pulled her close.

Elsa's smiling face against the blur of the crowd was the last thing Anna saw before she collapsed into Elsa's arms. The goblet fell to the floor at Elsa's feet, where the last few drops of the red drink pooled like blood.

"Anna!" Elsa cried, catching her as she fell.

There were gasps from the other guests, the music and the dancing stopped, replaced by stunned mutterings as people gathered around.

"I've got you," Elsa said softly to her bride. She gently lowered Anna to the floor and rested her head in her lap, her red hair trailing over her knees. Elsa tenderly brushed a few strands from Anna's forehead and stroked her cheek; her skin felt cold, her eyes were closed and her lips were parted.

Voices in the crowd called for a healer. As one of the most important citizens, the town's healer had naturally been invited to the celebration, and the crowd made way for him, but his skills would be useless here.

Elsa watched him kneel at Anna's side and raise his hand over her lips to check her breathing. She tried not to panic. It was just excitement and exhaustion, Elsa told herself, Anna would get better soon. She held her hand, colder than it had ever been.

"She'll be all right, won't she?" Elsa asked, her voice stronger than she felt.

He did not reply but took hold of Anna's other hand and felt her pulse.

They waited.

Elsa did not know what the time was doing, whether seconds, minutes or hours went by before she looked up to him, wondering why he hadn't said anything.

With tearful eyes the healer looked at Elsa. He had brought bad news to many in his time, but he could not bring himself to announce the death of Elsa's beloved.

"No," Elsa breathed interpreting his silence to mean that the very worst had happened. It couldn't be true, not her Anna...

But her bride lay still and cold in her lap.

The crowd watched Elsa break at that moment. Her face creased in agony.

"No!" she wailed, her voice loud and echoing in the Hall, hollow and distraught, unrecognisable compared to its usual sound.

Elsa held Anna, lifted her lifeless form to her chest, cradling her.

The crowd was solemn and silent, save for the sobs of Anna's parents, though even they were not as loud as Elsa's as she felt her heart torn out of her, a wound that would never heal.

The healer caught sight of the goblet and picked it up as he rose to his feet, guided by his intuition and forces beyond his control. He sniffed at the liquid left inside with his well-trained nose.

"Poison!" he exclaimed.

Murmurs rose all around. Elsa heard but did not care; Anna was gone and the method made no difference to her. She continued to shake with her sobs.

"Secure the Hall!" the King ordered. "No one leaves here until we find out who did this!"

The royal guards assembled to follow his orders immediately, seeing the pain and anger in their monarch, feeling it themselves.

Elsa's father went with them, desperate to distract himself from feeling powerless to help his daughter in her grief.

Elsa's mother gently approached her. She crouched down and placed a hand on her daughter's shaking shoulder, but Elsa shrunk away from her touch. She wanted only Anna.

Her mother sat in silence at her side, soon joined by Anna's parents. The three of them wept silently, mourning the loss of the complete, whole family they had been just hours before.

All the servants were questioned by the guards and the King himself, even Kristoff, the little serving boy, whose resolve failed beneath their stern faces.

"I didn't know it would hurt Anna!" he blurted out, tears spilling from his brown eyes. "Someone told me to give it to her!"

"Who was it?" the King demanded, stepping up to the boy, putting him in his shadow.

"He said he'd hurt my reindeer if I told anyone," Kristoff said, fearing for his only friend.

The king got down onto the boy's level to look into his eyes. "Your reindeer will not be harmed," he assured, trying to sound as kindly as he could. "Who gave you the goblet?"

"Lord Hans," Kristoff replied quietly, trusting his King.

The guards found him lurking in the shadows, behind the crowd. They seized him and searched him, found poison in his pocket.

And Hans confessed that he had done it because he was jealous of their joy, he wanted to see Elsa suffer.

It was poorly-planned, Hans wasn't surprised he had been caught, but he was led off by the guards with a smug smile on his face, feeling satisfied that he had ruined Elsa's life.

They dragged him to the castle dungeons, left him to rot in the oubliette, sentenced to die in a pit like the snake he was for taking one so pure and innocent from the world.

But Elsa gained no satisfaction when her father told her they had got revenge. She was still in shock at being jolted from joy to despair in less than a day. In mere hours, Elsa's fortune had reversed, it was too sudden.

She looked at Anna's face below her, the freckles standing out against her now pallid skin. They had not been married for a full day, they hadn't even had their wedding night...

Her vision blurred with tears, Elsa let her parents hold her, numb and shaking in their arms, while her beloved's body was carried away.

The wedding turned into a wake at the temple that evening. Anna was laid out, still beautiful in her bride's dress. Her hair was combed and braided, fresh flowers were placed at her chest, clasped in her cold hands.

Elsa couldn't bear to sleep in their bridal bed alone or even to enter the new house that had been built especially for them, perfected to be ready on their wedding day. She couldn't leave Anna's side. Elsa sat by her silently in the temple while the sun set and rose again above her, until it was time for the funeral.

The same priest who had joined them, with tears in his eyes, now prepared to part them forever. They prepared to take Anna where Elsa couldn't follow.

But before they could, Elsa gave her wife one last embrace, one last kiss on her pale, cold lips; she did not care if the poison that had killed her still remained.

Elsa removed the ring from Anna's finger that she had placed there only yesterday, though it felt like a lifetime ago, and added it to the one that encircled her own; their fingers were the same size, a perfect match in every way.

Her parents took her home, back to her old room to which Elsa thought she would never return.

Elsa could see the funeral pyre from her window. Her parents wouldn't trust her to get any closer, and part of her was glad they didn't, for she could not endure seeing her love reduced to ashes. Yet part of her wanted to rush out and throw herself on, to follow Anna to the Otherworld...

But Elsa lingered on in darkness and in doubt, not truly living or feeling, though in unimaginable pain in a state somewhere in between.

Reluctantly she removed her bridal gown, the last thing touched by Anna, and wore the black mourning dress her mother made.

Though it was summer, to Elsa her existence was like nightfall in winter, starless and cold. She was numb to everything, she could not even play her music anymore. Elsa blamed herself, constantly replaying the days before her wedding over and over in her mind... She shouldn't have agreed to the King's suggestion, she should have insisted they had a private party at home, just the six of them...

But what Elsa found most unbearable was she still felt like Anna was there, their connection was so strong; Anna was a part of her. Elsa felt like she was going to knock on the door, throw a stone at her window any minute. Anna's voice was at the edge of her hearing and Elsa saw her face when she closed her eyes.

She couldn't understand how the world went on without Anna. The sky was the same, the sun still rose and set, the moon and the stars, too. Children still played outside. Did they not know? The light and the warmth had gone out of the world.

Elsa didn't know what she had done to deserve it, trying to live without her heart was the ultimate form of punishment. She felt nothing, nothing good, at least.

Although, despite everything, and for a reason she could not explain, Elsa felt hope when she prayed at the temple for guidance, and guilt tormented her for feeling it.

Worst of all were Elsa's dreams. Every night she would feel Anna in her arms, hear her laughter and see her smile, so bright, so real... And Elsa would cry when she awoke alone, feeling the loss anew each time.

So she stayed awake for as long as she could, with grief and tears as her only sustenance, until her eyes closed from sheer exhaustion, cradling the lyre Anna had given her as an engagement gift.

And Anna was with her again, with the sunlight on her hair, laughter in her eyes and Elsa's name on her lips.  _Elsa!_  she called, over and over.  _Elsa! Elsa!_

"Elsa!"

Her eyes snapped open at the sound, but it was only her mother, urging her to eat.

"She wouldn't want you to starve yourself," her mother said, a tear trickling down her cheek as she pressed some bread into her daughter's pale hand.

Elsa forced herself to bring it to her lips, but she was hungry only for Anna's kiss, her touch, her smile.

"I can't," Elsa said, her voice hollow. The bread fell from her hand as she got to her feet and rushed out of the room, out of the house.

Her parents let her go to be alone, thought the fresh air would help her; they had done all they could for their daughter.

The sky was mourning, too, when Elsa went outside and the rain blended with the tears on her face. She was still clutching her lyre, yet it was no comfort for her. Elsa bowed her head and walked forward, she left the town and went into the solemn forest, desperate to find peace or at least some escape amongst the silent trees.

Nine days and nights she wandered in the woods, drifting beyond human consciousness, feeling the veil grow thin. Elsa felt herself directed, the Fates led her to where she knew she had to be and finally she stood still.

Elsa recognised this place, if not from memory, from local legend. It was the cave where nobody ever went, the cave they said whispered at night, its entrance darker than even the blackest midnight hour. The stories told of where it led. Elsa did not know whether they were true, but she knew this was where she had to go.

Down into the dark, until the cave surrounded her, blacker even than her own grief. Elsa was not sure it was real, but if it was a dream, she hoped she'd never wake and stay here where the pain of her grief could not touch her, since she felt it lessening the further she went.

But Elsa's eyes adjusted, the light of her love for Anna within her guiding her down the steep decline. She felt cold, but it didn't bother Elsa, she was warmed by her love for Anna, armed against everything she would face, so strong was her love, the only thing her soul had left, and she clung to it as her hands grasped her lyre.

Just when she thought the passage would never end and she would indeed be trapped down there forever, the cave opened out into a vast chasm, immeasurable, its space beyond comprehension.

Elsa felt it before she saw it, the sense of dread, of helplessness all around her, yet it did not affect her, numbed as she was by her broken heart. Her eyes adjusted again to the deeper darkness, but not just endless darkness, mist and shifting shadows. Though what also filled this place was silence, unnerving silence broken only by Elsa's footsteps as she kept walking.

Suddenly light and sound reached Elsa, the sound of a river almost deafening after the silence, and a gold light, blinding after the darkness.

As Elsa continued towards it, the light resolved itself into a bridge roofed with gold, shining through the mist and dark. Elsa knew she had to cross it.

There was a maiden guarding the bridge. She watched Elsa, but did not stop her. Sensing destiny and other forces in Elsa's company, she stood aside.

Elsa kept going, under the golden roof. The river rushed below the bridge that echoed with her footfall, she found the sounds gave her strength.

Yet that strength almost faltered when Elsa saw the open gates on the other side of the bridge, once the sound of the river had faded again behind her.

The gates towered above her between black walls, taller than the mountains of her home. Elsa paused, looking up to the top in the distance, blending with the blackness of the chasm beyond. She had never seen such huge structures in her entire life and knew they were not made by human hands.

But she felt herself drawn between them and followed the urge, stronger than her fear.

Within the huge fortress, whose boundaries Elsa could not even see in the distance, everything was grey, everything except her hands and her lyre when she looked down at them. As her eyes adjusted again, Elsa saw the greyness become countless faces, people, shades. They gathered around her, trying to touch Elsa with their faded hands, sensing her life among the dead.

Their faint voices were like whispers and deafened Elsa with their numbers rather than their volume. She heard pleas for help and rescue, saw sad faded faces, their grey eyes haunting and tragic. They may not have been able to touch Elsa's body but the spirits touched her soul and she was tempted to turn and run back to her home, yet she paused as the shades surrounded her.

Elsa knew her lore, knew now that the tales of the cave were true, she knew where she was. And she knew Anna was here somewhere among these spirits of the dead. Elsa could feel her beloved closer than anywhere other than her dreams.

This was a horrible place for Anna to be, trapped amongst such sorrow and darkness. Elsa had to find Anna and bring her home to the light and love where she belonged.

But there were so many shades, she didn't know where to even start looking, Elsa cast her eyes around the grey sea of faces.

Then she saw the Hall, towering above.  _Éljúðnir_. Elsa knew who dwelt there.  _She_  had the knowledge to find Elsa's beloved, and the power to give her back.

Elsa began walking through the mist and the shades, chilling her very soul as she did so, but she knew this way would lead her to Anna, and she realised she had been waiting to tread it since her tragic wedding day.

The climb was steep and the way treacherous, but Elsa made it, after she knew not how long, and entered the Hall.

There Elsa saw the Queen of the Underworld on her black throne. She possessed the only colour in this realm, with her pale but blushing cheek, her dark eye and her rich dark hair falling to her ankle. But when she turned to Elsa, the other half of her face was corpse-blue, her eye clouded, her cheekbone protruding, her hair white and matted. The goddess wore a black robe, low enough to show the top of her full breast on one side, sunken flesh and ribs on the other.

Yet Elsa was not afraid, though the sight of her and her Divine presence almost fazed her. She knew this was the goddess who could give her what she needed.

"The floor echoes with your footsteps and you lack the colour of the dead," said the Queen of the Underworld as Elsa reached her throne; her voice rang like a funeral bell. "What brings one alive to the Hall of Hel?"

Elsa bowed and found her words. "O Queen," she began. "I have not ventured here out of curiosity to see your realm. I came here because of my wife."

Elsa found it strange to speak of Anna as her wife, since they had been married for mere hours. She found it strange to speak of her feelings at all, having kept them inside, concealed them as much as she could. But Elsa continued.

"She was taken from me before her time by a cruel and evil man. I tried to endure living without her, I tried with all the strength I have, but my love for her has proven stronger. That force is well known in the world above. Whether it is so here, too, I do not know, but I imagine that even here love still has some power. By these places filled with horrors, by this endless chasm and by the silence of these boundless realms, I beg you, please restore my wife Anna to life. I love her. Anna is everything to me and I..." Elsa's skills called to her, more powerful than speech. "I wrote this song about her."

Elsa took her lyre firmly in her hand and caressed the strings with her fingers, letting the sweet notes ring out through the Hall and the realm beyond. She raised her clear, beautiful voice and sang a song she had composed for Anna when they were young, in the springtime when life was green and good, when they had just realised the depth of their love for each other and Elsa was discovering her musical gifts.

She sang of Anna's beauty, her hair, her smile and her freckles, her loving nature, her loyalty. But most of all, more than it conveyed Anna's precious nature, the song conveyed how much Anna meant to Elsa, more than life itself.

The bloodless spirits wept throughout the realm at the sweet sound. For the first time, the Queen of the Underworld shed tears from both her living and dead eyes, such was the power of Elsa's love for Anna.

Elsa finished, the familiar song giving her the courage to ask for what she needed and the knowledge that she would not be refused.

"To you we all belong," Elsa said. "Sooner or later we all end up here. This is our final home and you possess the most lasting power over all of humanity. Please, I beg of you, restore Anna to me in the world above until both her time and mine have come and we can descend here together. But if you deny me this privilege on behalf of my beloved wife, then I promise that I will not return here in this form, living as I am, and you can triumph over the death of us both."

Elsa was shaking, with the effort of her actions and with the sudden fear that she would be refused, despite her hope.

But Elsa had touched the goddess' half-rotten Divine heart. The mortal's daring and determination moved the Queen. She knew the shade Elsa sang and spoke of, knew that Anna was desperate to be reunited with her, too. She could not deny Elsa her request.

"Behold! Your wife," she said, summoning Anna from among the newly-arrived shades to appear at the side of her throne.

Elsa's heart leapt when she saw her. She knew it was not a dream, Anna never looked like that in her dreams; she was faded and grey, dressed as when she died, in her wedding gown. But despite the differences, she was still her Anna. The spirit turned towards her and Elsa had no doubt, she would know those eyes anywhere, even without their unique colour.

"Elsa!" Anna called, her smile almost illuminated the Hall, but her voice came as if from far away and echoed strangely. "I knew you'd find me!"

"Anna!" Elsa rushed to meet her, though they could not touch, her hand passed through Anna like smoke; Elsa shuddered.

"Do not rejoice so soon, Elsa," the goddess said.

Anna didn't seem to hear the Queen's voice and stayed gazing at Elsa, trying to touch her.

"A test will be made to see whether your love is as true as you claim. I will allow Anna to return to life with you. But you, Elsa, you must not look back until you have left my realm, not even for a moment, otherwise my gift will be revoked."

"Thank you, Divine One," Elsa replied, her heart gladdened. She bowed and placed her lyre at the foot of the throne as a gift of her own in return. She had received it as a precious gift herself, but it was not as precious as Anna's life. "Please accept this as a token of my gratitude." She saw the ghost of a smile flicker across the goddess' Divine features.

Elsa bowed again, then turned to begin her journey, resolved not to fail; her expression was set, she knew what she had to do and this was her only chance to get back her life and her love.

Other shades followed them, yet Elsa could not see them crowding behind her. All but Anna halted when they walked through the gates.

Anna had never been able to pass between them before in the brief time she had been desperately trying to escape this realm. She walked behind Elsa beyond the gates until they came in sight of the golden-roofed bridge, the brightest thing Anna's spirit-eyes had seen, yet she thought Elsa's hair ahead of her even more beautiful as she followed.

Elsa could hear Anna's exclamations as they crossed the bridge. She longed to see the wonder on her lover's face, but knew she could not turn to look, so Elsa kept her eyes ahead, knowing it would be worth it in the end.

They began the steep climb through the caves the way Elsa had come, mounting the ascending path in silence, becoming enveloped by the deepening gloom.

Anna tried to approach Elsa, to walk by her side. She could see Elsa's bright hair ahead of her, though there was a force stopping her from getting any closer. Anna wanted to see her wife's beautiful face that she had missed for so long.

"Elsa!"

It was a call she had heard in her dreams, but Elsa could reply now, even if she could not look back. "Keep following me, Anna!" Elsa called and pictured Anna's face, flushed and full of colour as she would see her when they left this place.

And Anna did, until soon they were not far from the verge of the upper earth.

Elsa heard her voice again, from further away. The instinct almost won, Elsa nearly turned her head to check on her beloved, yet she remembered at the last moment. Elsa shut her eyes, fixed her head forwards. "I'm here, Anna!" she called, but did not look back.

After a few silent minutes had passed in the darkness, Elsa opened her eyes ahead of her and kept walking, all the time repeating the words in her mind,  _don't look back, don't look back!_  Elsa prayed that Anna was still following her, but she had no way to tell.

At last, she saw the light of the world above, her home. Elsa rushed towards it knowing that there at last she could see her Anna again, she had passed the goddess' test, she was certain.

Elsa felt a jolt when she stepped back into the light, into the grassy field beyond the cave. She had no idea how long she had been gone but it was morning now, and she could see the clouded sky was red from the dawn ahead of her.

She breathed in the fresh air; it smelled the same, and looked the same as it had when she was last here. Struck by the sickening fear that it had all been a dream, Elsa halted. Yet she still did not dare to look back.

Anna followed in Elsa's footsteps and walked back into the living world. She felt a rush, a tingling all around her as the Divines restored her body. Anna held up her hands and watched them turn from smoky grey to freckled pink. She gasped as the restoration was complete, and took the first breath of her new life.

Anna breathed in the sweet scent of the summer air, felt the warm morning breeze on her skin and stirring her hair. She had missed these sensations so much, but not as much as she had missed the figure standing a little way ahead. Anna saw Elsa and felt her reborn heart jump in her chest when she knew she could touch her at last, knew that they were together again.

She stumbled in her eagerness, getting used to her body again, but soon Anna had walked up to her. Her beloved's head was bowed and her blonde hair fell in front of her face, staring at her clasped hands in front of her.

"Elsa?" Anna asked, stepping closer.

She raised her head to see the one she thought she'd never see again on this earth, with her red hair, her blue-green eyes and her smile...

"Anna?" Elsa whispered, and reached out to touch her, to confirm she was real, not a dream, not a spirit.

And her freckled cheek was warm, soft against Elsa's palm.

"Elsa," Anna said again, and raised her own hand to wipe a tear from Elsa's cheek. She could see such pain and love in those deep blue eyes and knew that she was the luckiest woman alive to have Elsa as her wife, Elsa who loved her so much that she had restored her life to her again. Anna pulled her into an embrace, her own words failing her as she tried to express her love.

Anna's scent was the same. Elsa nestled her face against her wife's neck and breathed in the sweet scent of her skin and her hair that she had missed so much.

The sun came out from behind the clouds to shine on their reunion, making Anna's red hair gleam in the morning light as Elsa gazed at it flowing down her back.

The recent days of Elsa's life had been like a nightmare. But Elsa was so, so glad it was over now Anna was here with her again. And she had no doubt it was real. Elsa could feel Anna's soft body pressing against her own, warm in her arms, she could feel Anna's tears wetting her shoulder.

"I love you," Anna said, her voice thick with crying.

"I love you, too!" Elsa replied and squeezed her tightly.

Elsa pulled back to kiss her, to taste her lips and show her love. She could taste the salt from her tears, but most of all Elsa recognised the sweet taste that was Anna's own, one that she had feared she would never know again.

Reunited, they broke their kiss, having tasted their fill of each other for now. And for the first time since their wedding day, Elsa smiled, bestowing its glory on her beloved wife. They were ready to return home.

Anna and Elsa walked through the forest together and talked of the painful experiences they had each endured. Neither Elsa nor Anna let go of the other's hand.

Anna told her how it felt to die, how she had pleaded to return and lingered in the Underworld, still feeling that she would see Elsa again, despite it all.

Elsa described how she had felt worse than dead in her grief, watching life go on without the one she loved, how she could not rest until she had been led to a way to bring Anna back, led by her love and by Providence.

The journey was quicker now they walked side by side and knew where they were going. The sun had almost completed its journey across the sky and it cast its orange light behind the two wives as they walked through the streets of the town.

All stopped and stared in wonder at the two of them, one whose death they had witnessed, and the other whom they had last seen as a living wraith of grief, but Elsa and Anna only had eyes for each other and they ignored the gasps and exclamations from the townsfolk as they walked into the temple of the Divines.

The temple seemed empty and Elsa's painful memories of the last time she was here were washed away by the beauty the building now possessed. Light shone through the stained glass windows at the top of the ceiling, filling the whole temple with celestial light.

The priest stood up from his prayers when Anna and Elsa entered, but almost fell to the floor when he saw Anna, the girl he had seen cremated not a fortnight before now living and looking with such love at her wife beside her.

He approached them, his eyes wide with wonder, and cried when he touched Anna's arm, feeling the Divine power that had brought her back to life.

"It's a miracle!" he pronounced, and went out to proclaim it to the town, announcing celebrations and offerings for all the Divines.

Elsa and Anna were alone together again, with only the Divines watching, so they began the duty they had come here to fulfil, since they owed so much to the higher powers both above and below. They poured libations, lit incense and said prayers of thanks at each shrine for every god and goddess, beginning with the goddess of death.

Last but certainly not least in their hearts, when they had finished their prayers at the shrine to the goddess of love and beauty, Elsa took the second ring off her finger and returned it to its rightful owner, her beloved Anna, her wife once more. They kissed to seal their vow anew, kissed feeling the love flow between them and around them, from each other and from the Divines who had brought them together again.

But they were interrupted when their parents, both Elsa's and Anna's, were brought in by the priest.

Anna's mother and father stopped when they saw her, unable to believe that their little girl was alive again. Yet they just had to accept it and forget all the questions they had, which they did, gladly taking Anna into their arms, and Elsa, too.

Elsa's parents had worried for her life, fearing they had lost their daughter as well as their daughter-in-law, but to see them both now, together and restored to life, made their hearts soar as they joined the embrace, elated to be the family they had been for that brief time after the wedding, determined to let nothing separate them again.

They brought Elsa and Anna home to the house that had been built for them. It had stood empty and shuttered since their first wedding day, and was now thrown open on their second, to let the light and the fresh air in to bless their reunion.

Their mothers gave them new white dresses to wear and fresh flowers for the wedding party they should have had. The six of them spent the evening together, hearing each other's tales but forgetting their sadness in the love and safety that surrounded them.

"It's good to see her smile," Elsa's mother said to her husband as they sat around the dining table after their meal. "I thought we'd never see her happy again."

He just put his arm around her and they watched their daughter and daughter-in-law in their happiness together, oblivious to all but each other.

Elsa took a chocolate from her own plate and tenderly offered it to Anna. Her wife gladly opened her mouth to receive it and Elsa softly stroked her lips as they closed over her favourite food.

Anna sighed and looked into Elsa's eyes. "I missed chocolate," she said, after she had swallowed every last trace of the delicious treat. "But I missed hearing you sing even more."

So, inspired by the love in her heart and in her wife's eyes, Elsa sang for Anna. She sang an old song about the goddess of love, when she had come down to earth and taught mortals the rites of marriage, giving them a little taste of the heavens with love on earth.

All thought they would never hear Elsa sing again. Her voice rang sweet and clear through the house and carried into the streets outside, conveying Elsa's joy to all who heard it.

But her joy had not even truly begun yet; she and Anna still had the rest of their long-awaited wedding night to spend together, they still had yet to taste the piece of the heavens that they had earned.

Their parents went home to their beds and at last, Elsa and Anna went up to theirs, clutching candles to light their way, watching the shifting light flicker and illuminate the other's hair and skin in the warm glow of the flames.

"I never thought this moment would come," Elsa said, when they had set down their candles and stood together in front of the bed.

"Neither did I," Anna replied. "But it has!" She slowly began to undo the buttons of her dress, freeing her freckled breasts and watching as Elsa mirrored her actions, baring her own snow-white bosom.

They had both seen each other naked before, bathing or changing clothes together, but had remained chaste, honouring the sacred bonds of marriage that they knew they would both be joined in once they were of age.

Yet to Elsa it seemed a lifetime since she had seen Anna unclothed, and she was more lovely than she had imagined or remembered. "You look beautiful," Elsa told her.

"You look beautifuller," Anna said in return, their private little joke since they were children. Her own grin grew wider when she saw Elsa's smile, bright enough to light up the whole night. Anna took her wife's hand in hers and together they lay on their bed, ready to truly join together in love.

They could both feel it, a strong and beautiful force connecting them; even death itself could not stop their love.

After losing Anna, waiting in agony and separation for so long, Elsa would have been content to simply look at her and caress her wife's glorious unclothed form with her eyes.

But Anna wanted to feel and to live, to touch and taste her beloved like she thought she never could. She leaned in and pressed her lips to Elsa's in a kiss so sweet it brought tears to her wife's deep blue eyes.

Elsa had to pull away to catch her breath, and she laced her fingers with her wife's as Anna kissed the tears from her cheeks. "I love you," Elsa said, finding the words inadequate, not enough to express how much Anna meant to her, how she made her heart and soul sing with passion inside.

"I love you, too, Elsa," said Anna, looking into her eyes. Anna knew she was so lucky to have Elsa, this beautiful woman who loved her with everything she had, who would do anything for her...

They lay facing each other on the bed, Anna traced her hand over the soft curves of Elsa's figure, staring at the perfection of the one who saved her, whose act of True Love, descending into the Underworld after her, brought her back to life. Anna knew she would have done the same for Elsa, would have moved heaven and earth to be together again.

Elsa took her hand and kissed the freckles on the back of it, kissed the ring she had placed there, then trailed kisses softly up Anna's arm, wanting to express her love for Anna in each tender press of her lips.

The feel of Elsa's kisses sent waves of sensation through Anna, her reborn skin heightened to her wife's touch, her soul heightened to Elsa's love.

In awe of her beauty, Elsa moved her mouth over Anna's freckled shoulders, determined to kiss every one of the beautiful little marks, while she tenderly rubbed the soft skin of Anna's back, slowly tracing circles with her fingers.

The tips of their breasts pressed together and Anna felt surrounded by Elsa's touch and her love. The light, gentle feeling of Elsa's kisses and breath on her neck made Anna's own breathing quicken, and she brought her hands up to run them through Elsa's hair, sighing at the sensation of the soft, blonde strands between her fingers.

Elsa reached the freckles on her face, cupping Anna's jaw delicately as she showered each of her cheeks with kisses. Finally, she kissed Anna's lips again and again until both she and Anna were grinning from the sheer delight of being together, united in love, forgetting the sadness they had been through.

Elsa sat back and looked down to see Anna, flushed and smiling, gazing up at her with the fire of desire in her blue-green eyes. At that moment, they both knew they were ready to fully give each other all their love.

Anna pulled her down until their mouths met again and she opened her lips to Elsa's, moaning softly when her wife's tongue touched hers. The taste of Elsa's mouth was so sweet and the feel of their entwining tongues so sensual that Anna was disappointed when Elsa pulled away. But she felt her passion stir even more when Elsa brought her hands and her mouth to Anna's breasts.

Elsa kissed and caressed Anna's soft freckled flesh, burying her face between her breasts. She took a stiffened nipple into her mouth and sucked on it, her tongue gently lapping as if her wife was drinking her own life from Anna's very existence.

Her hot tongue sent shivers down Anna's body, right to her core, she felt tingling between her legs as her breaths came in gasps.

Elsa turned her attention downwards, slowly towards the place she had waited to taste since she had first realised how much she loved Anna. But she paused, letting them both linger in anticipation while she licked Anna's navel, caressing it with her tongue; the place from which she had drawn her life the first time.

Yet now Elsa had given Anna life a second time and maintained it with her love and her touch. Anna felt her love as Elsa traced her fingertips over her thighs, her love for Anna evident in every caress. Elsa lifted her head and Anna knew that she was going to take her to the place of ultimate pleasure. Anna spread her legs.

There was desire in Elsa's eyes as she looked up to her wife, and matching desire in Anna's own. Elsa squeezed her hand briefly before moving down between Anna's legs.

She placed a kiss on Anna's red hair, Elsa could feel her warmth on her lips and smell her scent as she breathed in. Elsa gently spread her secret place apart to look with wonder inside her wife, finding her to be as beautiful as she had always imagined. Elsa touched the warmth within her, wetting her finger in Anna's folds, and glided it up to press her little bud of pleasure, loving the soft moist noises her movements made, along with Anna's moans above her.

Elsa replaced her finger with her tongue and tasted Anna's delicious essence for the first time. She licked the full length of her sex, feeling Anna thrust up against her tongue, until she had to come up for air.

But Elsa did not pause for long, she slid two of her slender fingers into Anna's core, surrounding them with Anna's warmth and wetness while she licked her essence off her lips. Every movement Elsa's skilful fingers made provoked ecstatic cries, and she considered Anna's moans to be the best music she had ever made with them.

Elsa leaned over to kiss Anna, to feel her impassioned breaths and look in her eyes as she neared her climax, still stroking her inner walls. Anna looked up at her with tears in the corners of her eyes, which closed in pleasure as she clenched around Elsa's fingers.

Anna felt so  _alive,_ experiencing sensations she didn't know were possible, stronger because of her recent rebirth, strongest because it was Elsa, her True Love, who was bringing her to this pleasure.

Elsa was looking down at her when she opened her eyes, looking at her with such love and glowing with the satisfaction of giving her the best feeling of either of her lives, which Anna could still feel in her centre as Elsa gently eased her fingers out.

Anna reached up to stroke Elsa's beautiful face, then guided her down until their lips met. And at their touch, Anna was filled with love for her wife. She wanted to make Elsa feel the same pleasure, to give her the pleasure she deserved after everything she had done.

She rolled Elsa over onto her back until she was gazing down at her. Anna kissed her lips and her soft, white throat, continuing down until she reached her breasts.

Elsa's nipples were stiff and pink against the rest of her snow-white skin. Anna brought her lips to each one, then pressed her cheek to the yielding flesh of her breasts. She loved the feeling of Elsa's soft skin and the sighing breaths her touch provoked from her beloved. Anna moved her hands down over Elsa's smooth stomach, but paused when she felt her ribs, more prominent than they used to be.

"Elsa, you're too thin," Anna said with concern.

"I couldn't enjoy anything without you, Anna," Elsa said, finding that she could talk about her suffering now she knew it was over, the memories about to be washed away by the pleasure she knew Anna was going to give to her. She stroked Anna's precious freckled cheek.

"I'm here now, and I'm never going to leave you again, Elsa," Anna said, and pressed her hand, then kissed her smiling lips.

Anna continued stroking down her body, over her slender waist to her hips. She noticed Elsa's hipbones were more prominent, too, but Anna distracted herself from her worry by focusing on what was below them.

She brushed her fingers over the golden curls between Elsa's legs, then looked into her eyes as she put a finger slowly into her wife's core.

Elsa moaned softly and her eyes closed in pleasure, she knew this had been worth waiting for, worth everything she had been through...

Anna slid in a second finger to join the first. Elsa felt so warm and wet inside, and she curled her fingers to stroke the sensitive, soaked flesh.

Elsa opened her eyes, blushing and breathing hard. "Anna!" she exclaimed through her gasps, and leaned up to kiss her lips, so thankful to Anna for simply existing again, for loving her and bringing her such pleasure.

But when Anna started quickening her movements within her, Elsa had to break their kiss to throw her head back and moan, gripping Anna's shoulders.

Anna kissed her white neck instead and began to thrust her fingers in and out of Elsa's centre, slowly and gently.

Her pleasure intensified with the change, Elsa felt herself getting closer to her release, even closer when Anna pressed her thumb against her nub of nerve endings, firing shockwaves through her body that kept building and building in a sensation even better than her music as Elsa's pleasure reached its crescendo.

Anna felt Elsa shudder, heard her beautiful voice rise in a wordless serenade. She slid her fingers out and held Elsa's hand until her breathing returned to normal and she opened her eyes to gaze up at her.

Elsa caressed Anna's face and pulled her down into a kiss that conveyed all her love and her gladness that they were fully joined together and would never be separated again.

It was the happiest day of Elsa's life and the happiest of both of Anna's, the first of many more with her beloved wife.


	10. Psyche

The King and Queen of a certain land had three beautiful daughters, each blessed with red hair and rare gifts.

Ariel, the eldest, had a voice of such loveliness that some said it was like the sound of a Siren, yet one could hear her sing safe in the knowledge that it was only drowning in the sight of her blue eyes they had to fear.

The second-born sister was named Giselle and had creative skills beyond compare. Men and women from all over the world would gladly pay their own weight in gold for an outfit of her design, and often did.

Anna was the youngest and by far the most beautiful. She outshone her older sisters with her ginger hair - a shade that was more vivid than Giselle's, more delicate than Ariel's - and her smile that warmed the hearts of all who saw it.

Born in the summer, Anna had sun-kissed skin and freckles as numerous as the stars in the night sky. She had both the green of summer grass and the blue of the calm ocean mingling in the depths of her eyes.

She grew more beautiful with every birthday, and since this day was also Midsummer, the kingdom combined the annual Midsummer festival with a celebration of Anna and her beauty.

But as both the maiden and her beauty grew, people began to worship her instead of the summer goddess whose festival it was, and this praise soon extended beyond Midsummer itself. They hailed Anna as a new goddess of Summer, a goddess reborn in human form; they gave her gifts of gold and flowers, spread the word so people from lands near and far came as pilgrims to see her.

Anna's eighteenth birthday was an occasion of particular grandeur. Now in the full bloom of her maidenhood, Anna was too lovely for words to describe. She was dressed in a gown of green and gold, low enough to reveal her freckled shoulders and the top of her bosom. They seated her in the town's temple and gave her anything she asked for.

But the young Princess herself did not understand the people's adoration of her; true, Anna knew she was beautiful, although she thought there were many women in the world who possessed looks more attractive than her own.

Yet Anna welcomed the attention. She loved to love and be loved and was glad to have so many people to talk to; Anna was rarely lonely. Though in her soul, Anna had begun to realise that it wasn't real love that the people gave her, not the True Love she craved...

A magnificent feast was prepared for her birthday, the largest the land had ever known, and offerings were given, to Anna, not to the goddess. There was dancing and singing, all for the glory of the Princess, not the Divine Queen of Summer.

And all this attracted attention from the heavens.

From their seats of seeing in the celestial realm above, two Divines of the seasons looked down on this show of worship in which they had no share. Theros, the goddess of summer, surveyed Anna and her celebrants, saw her own shrines neglected and ignored. She watched it all with a fury in her heart, an anger as scorching as her season burning in her gold-brown eyes.

Most saw only Summer's kind face, but when her daughter saw her now she thought her cruel, impulsive, with a heart as dry as the long droughts she sometimes sent to punish the mortal world.

"This maiden must be punished, Elsa," Theros said, her voice low, steadier than it could have been, but with her ire barely contained. "I shall throw her from the throne she has made from her worship, worship she stole from  _me_ , and laugh when she shatters on the ground."

Elsa had never seen her mother so angry in all the years of her immortal life and found herself thinking that the two of them could not be more different, despite their family bond.

Of course, as the goddess of winter, Elsa could be cruel if she so wished, she could send blizzards to freeze whole towns or block out the sun with snow. Most saw winter as a time devoid of life, yet Elsa knew that it was her duty to nurture life in secret and prepare it for rebirth, to notice and care for hidden things. Whereas her mother's season was blind to all but its own burning pleasure, concerned with life in its prime and glory, spending all one's energy before it dimmed in autumn. She saw only what was on the surface, but Elsa saw much deeper.

"Have mercy, Mother," Elsa told her. "She's only a mortal maiden."  _A very beautiful mortal maiden..._  she thought, though Elsa could see her hidden sorrow. Theros saw arrogance in Anna where Elsa saw escapism, a distraction from her secret loneliness.

Elsa saw that Anna had an inner beauty far more wonderful than the mortal world could perceive. Her soul was fragile and precious, a tiny radiance that hid behind Anna's smiles and laughter and sweet words. It was not nourished by worship, Anna needed something different.

"No, I shall be avenged," Theros insisted. She turned to Elsa, who watched her golden ringlets and orange gossamer dress glow with her anger. "You will help me, Elsa. Strike her through the heart, give her a taste of Winter's chill for offending Summer!" She took Elsa's hand, thinking it would be the perfect punishment for Anna's blasphemy.

But Elsa let it go and allowed a flicker of horror to pass over her face at the very idea of hurting Anna. From the warning glint in her mother's eyes Elsa saw it had not gone unnoticed. To conceal her unexplained fondness for Summer's foe, she kept her voice as clear and cold as ice. "If you have decided that this girl is your enemy, then I cannot change your mind, Mother." She neither agreed nor disagreed to help, but in her head and heart, Elsa resolved to give Anna her protection, to secretly shield her from Summer's cruelty and keep her safe.

"Good," Theros said, believing she now had her daughter's powers as well has her own to use in her wrath. "I will stop this worship now and turn the people's minds back to me. They shall offer the maiden's life as a sacrifice to us both or else our powers will scorch and freeze the mortal world until my anger is appeased." The summer goddess smiled and spread her red wings to leap into the aether.

She left Elsa to stare in sorrow at Anna's own wistful face. But the goddess' sorrow soon changed into determination to rescue the mortal girl from forces beyond her control; Elsa knew she was innocent and did not deserve to know punishment for the actions of others, Anna could not be blamed for the foolish behaviour of her fellow mortals.

As she flew, Theros decided what she would do, thoughts flashing through her Divine mind quicker than lightning in a summer storm. She descended like a shooting star, invisible to mortal eyes. The goddess whispered into the ear of a wandering oracle. She would send him to the city with words of warning for the Princess, a prophecy that the price of offending the goddess would be paid for with her mortal life.

Anna's birthday had ended, and once the sun had gone down and she was not sought for worship anymore, Anna sat in her lonely room and deplored her solitude.

While it was true that all eyes had been on her throughout the day and every mouth eagerly spoke and sang her praises, Anna longed for only one form of attention. Her two elder sisters, with their moderate charms, had now been married to two royal princes for years, and Anna had seen the way they looked at each other at their weddings; mutual affection and respect in their eyes, not the blind adoration Anna was used to.

And that was all Anna wanted. Someone who  _truly_  loved her, not just for her beauty. But no one, neither royalty nor commoner had approached to ask for her hand in marriage, leaving Anna alone amidst the crowd of her worshippers.

She was sick of the beauty that, while it procured an abundance of flattery, had failed to awaken love. Love was a closed door to Anna, who was viewed by the people as not much more than a statue, something that was worthy of praise yet was removed from real relationships.

Now frowned upon by Summer herself, Anna began to fade, not in her beauty, but in her spark. Her pleasure was dimmed by the goddess' wrath, even simple things that once gave her delight could no longer bring even a faint smile to Anna's face, and her soul cried out for love even more.

Her royal parents, afraid that they had unwittingly incurred the anger of the gods - since never before had they seen their daughter so troubled - consulted an oracle. But the answer they received brought them no ease.

"The Princess is destined to be the bride of no mortal lover," the blind old man told them. "Her intended awaits at the top of the North Mountain. For living as Summer, Anna will be claimed by Winter. There she will find the worship she deserves."

This dreadful decree filled all the people with dismay, and her parents abandoned themselves to despair. All interpreted it to mean that Anna had to die to end her current misery, not knowing in their mortal ignorance that Elsa had twisted the words of her mother's prophecy and had her own plans regarding the maiden's fate.

The people understood the wrong that they had done in honouring Anna so highly, they regretted neglecting the true goddess and knew they had to atone for such wrongdoings. After hearing the oracle's words, many said they should expose the Princess on the mountain summit and let the elements take her, as the prophecy proclaimed. Of course, they still loved Anna's beauty, but the people now knew they would invoke Divine fury if they continued to honour a mortal in their place. They supported their words by arguing that Anna was too beautiful for the world and should be given back to the Divines as a sacrifice for their unwitting impiety.

When they heard what their citizens intended, the King and Queen kept their daughter close and explained to her what their subjects wanted after Anna questioned their troubled expressions.

But her reply was not what either of them had imagined. Anna looked at them with a smile on her face. "Why don't you let them?" she asked. "You should have prevented the people when they showered me with undeserved honours and worshipped me as a goddess! I can see now that I've angered the true heavens and I submit to whatever Fate has decided is meant for me. Anything is better than lingering like this, not knowing what it's like to live and love without my beauty influencing everything I do."

Anna took both of her parents by the hand. "My dear mother and father, let them lead me to the mountain where I'm destined to go. I'm not afraid!"

The King and Queen exchanged a glance, thinking of the kingdom's needs, that everything must be done to avoid angering the powers above more than they already had. They were proud of their selfless daughter for offering her life in exchange for the safety of their people.

It was the hardest decision of their lives, but the King and Queen made preparations for their youngest, most beautiful daughter to be given to up to the gods and goddesses as a sacrifice.

At last, the day came for Anna to take her place in the procession, adorned in fine jewellery and flowers, almost if it was her wedding she was being taken to, not a fate unknown to all who led her there.

The King and Queen lamented the loudest, their voices blending with those of their people in both funeral dirges and wedding hymns that rang around the North Mountain as they climbed towards the top.

At the summit, all said their final farewells to the beautiful Princess, her mother and father took her into their arms for one last bittersweet embrace, still unsure whether they had made the right decision to let her go, but knowing that Anna was certain this was where she had to be.

With sorrowful hearts, they returned home and left Anna alone on the top of the mountain to await the judgement of the forces that had called her there.

Tears of fear fell from her eyes when Anna saw the backs of her parents and the other people she had known all her life disappear down the mountain and out of sight. She knew it was probably the last time she would see them, maybe the last time she would see anything other than the stones and the snow at the mountain's highest ridge.

Anna pulled her thick cloak around herself and wandered to the edge of the rock, shaking as she saw the steep drop below her. She didn't know what to do, whether the Divines expected her to throw herself off or whether they would come to claim her themselves, so Anna waited, wringing her gloved hands and biting her lip until it almost bled.

From above, Elsa watched, saddened to see Anna suffer, but glad that she had found her before her mother. Elsa silently summoned her servant the North Wind to raise Anna up and bring her to the Realm of Winter.

The Princess gasped as she felt herself rising gently up into the air. She could not see anything supporting her, yet a force invisible to her eyes was firmly lifting her, cradling her in unseen arms.

Anna had dreamed of flying before and this was not dissimilar to the feelings and sights her mind had conjured, so much that she questioned whether she was dreaming now, while her body lay curled up in a sleep of death in the cold snows of the North Mountain.

But what she saw below her now was undoubtedly real. When the clouds parted Anna looked down on lands she knew from maps; familiar fjords, forests, mountains and cities far beneath her.

Soon she was crossing an ocean that seemed to have no end and time lost its meaning as Anna watched the waves below, almost soothing her to sleep with their sounds, yet she dared not move or close her eyes for more than a moment, lest she lose hold of whatever force was carrying her and fall to her death.

More time went by - minutes, hours, or even days, Anna did not know - and the ocean beneath began to give way to ice. First icebergs dotted its surface, but these soon fused to form a frozen tundra. This in turn transformed, rising into shining glaciers and sheer mountains.

And the North Wind hastened as it neared its home, carrying the Princess through a narrow gap between two tall mountain peaks before gradually lowering her onto a soft bank of snow and letting her find her own way from there.

Anna felt the unseen force leave her and sat in the snow. Her breath misted in front of her, but Anna could not feel the cold. She got to her feet, stretching and enjoying the change from the journey.

She looked around and saw she was near a grove of tall, stately trees, pure white and glittering. Anna went up to one and touched it with her gloved hand, looking up the trunk to the leaves above, silvery and softly whispering in the faint breeze. Anna entered the frozen forest. Snow covered every inch of the ground and the shadows cast by the icy trees were a cool shade of blue. It was a peaceful place and Anna could feel that she was the only person for miles around, though somehow this did not make her lonely.

She ventured further between the trees until she discovered a fountain in their midst, but it was unlike any Anna had ever seen. Instead of water, crystallised droplets were suspended between the delicate icy tiers of the structure. It caught the sunlight from above and shimmered with an ethereal beauty.

Anna touched one of the floating droplets, like a clear pearl of ice, dislodging it from its position until it was pulled back to where it had previously hovered by whatever force controlled it.

She turned her eyes beyond the wonders of the fountain to an even more magnificent sight; a palace of pure ice. It was clear blue, reflecting both the colour of the sky above and the white of the trees surrounding it, and glowed faintly with a light of its own.

The building was elegant, crystalline, and it rose into the air like a mountain or a temple, yet Anna could tell deep down that it was the work of neither nature, nor mortal hands, but the sanctuary of some Divine.

Drawn by admiration and wonder, Anna approached the building, intending to go inside. She climbed up the ice steps, and paused when the door opened as she approached. There was no one on the other side and a shiver went up Anna's spine when she felt the power and the magic the palace possessed. But she did not let that deter her and continued into the hall beyond the ornate doorway.

Every object Anna saw filled her with amazement and made her eyes widen as she beheld the beauty of the ice palace's interior. Frosted ice pillars supported the vaulted roof and the walls were enriched with patterns and motifs, so perfect that they could not have been carved; they must have been formed complete, the ice shaped into such wonderful designs by powers Anna could not even begin to comprehend.

Anna saw her reflection in every surface, but apart from her red hair and bright clothes, everything else was in shades of white and blue. Everything else was silent, still and eerie.

Just as she thought that, the door closed behind her, the sound echoing around the hall, and Anna turned to see that, again, no one was there to have moved it. Intrigued by the mysteries of this place, she proceeded onwards and climbed the glasslike steps to the upper floors.

Other Annas followed alongside her as she went, accompanying her almost as if she was the Queen of this palace and her reflected selves her servants; although Anna could sense that the true ruler of this realm must possess such skills and magic that she was almost glad to be alone for fear of what would happen if she was discovered. But then Anna remembered how the door had opened to welcome her inside and put her fears to rest; though this place held power, she could feel it would not be used against her.

Up the stairs, Anna discovered bedrooms, libraries and bathrooms all concealed behind doors as ornate as the palace's grand entrance, only suited in their size to the building's interior. There were also other chambers filled with all manner of treasures and beautiful, precious productions of nature and art.

With her eyes occupied by these wonders and her mind wandering again to what kind of being lived in this place of beauty, Anna was jolted back to the present when she heard a voice addressing her.

"My lady, all that you see here is yours!"

Anna looked around, with the sound of her heart pounding in her ears, but saw nothing until she turned her eyes towards the floor behind her, and what she saw made her jump back with a little shriek of surprise.

The creature that had spoken was most definitely not human. It seemed to be formed of lumps of snow and resembled something a child would build, it even had a carrot for a nose. Yet its eyes were alive and Anna's fear was lessened when she saw the friendliness in them and the smile on the snowman's face.

"I'm Olaf," he said, restraining his gregarious nature and his fondness for warm hugs so that he would not frighten the girl more than he already had.

"I'm Anna," she replied, finding her voice with ease and relaxing with the aura of pure innocence she felt emanating from the creature.

"I know!" said Olaf. "We've been expecting you. My brothers and I are the servants of this palace and our mistress has told us to do everything we can to make you comfortable. Dinner awaits you in the dining hall when you're ready, but if you prefer, you can rest in any bed you want, or relax in any bath; whatever you feel like doing most, Lady Anna!"

Anna followed Olaf's advice and decided to bathe before heading down to the dining hall. The snowman left Anna after she thanked him, and she stepped into the nearest bathroom. It was a large chamber with opaque ice walls and a frosted door that, again, closed behind her once she had entered.

There was a large bath sunken into the ice floor with ornate taps fashioned like crystal swan heads. Anna thought any water that came from them would have to be freezing cold to avoid melting the ice of which the palace was composed, but she was proven wrong when water began streaming from them as she approached. Anna saw and felt the steam rising from the water and watched in amazement as the bath filled itself nearly to the brim, whereupon the flow ceased, leaving Anna to stare in silence at the inviting bathtub and the steam slowly swirling over it.

She stripped off her clothes and slowly slid into the tub, feeling the heat of the water surround her in its embrace. Anna lay back and relaxed, her mind soon drifting to the mysteries of the palace and wondering of the reasons why she could feel the hot water but not the cold of the ice, how the ice was able to withstand such temperatures anyway... There was obviously magic in this place. Anna wondered about the mistress Olaf had mentioned, whether she would get to meet her, and how she had arrived here in the first place. But she let her cares float away as she herself floated in the deep water, deeper that any tub Anna had ever been in, even in her palace at home.

Anna sighed and closed her eyes. The aches from the hard climb up the mountain left her limbs and the memories began to fade from her mind, so the sadness of the last days she spent with her parents felt like a lifetime ago. Anna could feel that she was starting a new life as she rose from the water.

Treading cautiously so her wet feet wouldn't slip on the smooth floor, Anna reached for a towel that lay nearby. It was softer than feathers and Anna rubbed herself dry until her skin was pink and glowing.

Completely refreshed and dressed again, Anna wandered down to the dining hall where she found Olaf waiting for her. She sat down at the head of the empty ice table and Olaf gently pushed the chair in for her.

"Dinner is served, My Lady!" the snowman announced, before another door opened and what Anna could only assume were Olaf's brothers entered carrying a vast array of dishes; all kinds of delicacies, some Anna was familiar with, but others she had never seen before, and wines as sweet as nectar served in glass goblets.

The other creatures were made of snow, like Olaf, only most of them were much smaller although one was incredibly large, so large that Anna was not sure how he managed to fit through the doorways of the palace, but she had no doubt that magic was involved.

While Anna ate, her ears were feasted with music from the snowmen. They sang, led by Olaf, in a wonderful harmonious chorus. The Princess clapped once they had finished, each snowman bowed and Anna thought she was so lucky to enjoy such a magical performance all to herself. The others began to clear the table, and Anna chatted with Olaf.

"Thanks for making me so welcome here, Olaf," she began. "This day has been full of surprises, and it's completely different from when I woke up in my own bed this morning." Anna proceeded to tell the snowman about her day, presuming it had indeed only been one day. "I'm glad I was rescued from the mountain, I had no idea what was going to happen to me!" she said, finally.

Olaf held her hand between two of his stick ones. "Well, you're safe here now," he said. "All are protected who have been invited into the Vale of Winter!"

So that's where she was... Anna was glad she had found out at least one of the mysteries about this place, but there was still another at the forefront of her mind; Anna had not yet seen the owner of this magical palace.

"Olaf, who is your mistress?" she asked, remembering his earlier remark. "What's she like?"

"She's kind and gentle, with the warmest heart you'll ever meet!" Olaf said, full of praise for the goddess who had given him life. "She told us all to look after you, and she'll look after you, too."

"When can I meet her?" Anna asked, eager to give thanks to this generous and evidently powerful woman.

"Soon," Olaf said, and patted her hand before pulling her to her feet. "But you should go to bed now, you've had a long day."

Anna did indeed feel tired, but comfortably so, with her stomach full and her body warm from the wine and the lingering heat of her bath, and Anna could think of nothing more delightful than sleeping in one of the magnificent beds she had seen when she had explored the palace earlier.

Olaf led her by the hand to the hallway. "You may sleep in any bed you like. Goodnight, Lady Anna!" he said, before leaving her to make her own way up the stairs.

"Goodnight, Olaf!" Anna replied sleepily, and climbed to the next floor of the palace. She opened the first door that she came to, which destiny had determined was that belonging to the goddess herself.

The bed was large and ornate, seemingly crafted from ice, but with blankets softer and warmer than any Anna had known in her own home. Its headboard was like a huge snowflake, as were the decorations on each of the four posts.

Anna still had so many questions about this place, though she decided to put them aside, since her tiredness was getting the better of her. So the Princess undressed, taking off her gloves and her jewels, her cloak and her dress until she was clad only in her chemise, then slid between the soft sheets, laid her head on the silken cushions and sank into sleep.

Once night had fallen over her realm, Elsa returned to her palace, flying silently on her white wings.

Even after their many years of immortal friendship, Olaf was still always startled whenever his mistress appeared behind him as if from nowhere and called his name.

Elsa smiled as he jumped and turned to her. She felt her loose white dress settle itself around her legs and folded her wings behind her back.

"Lady Elsa!" Olaf said, happily. "The maiden has arrived, the one you told us to expect. And she's just as beautiful as you said! I can see why you like her so much." The snowman giggled as a faint blush graced the goddess' face. "But you're too late," Olaf added. "She's already gone to bed."

"No, that's good," Elsa replied. "I don't want her to know who I am. I don't think she's ready to find out just yet. I can't risk my mother discovering Anna's hidden here so please keep everything a secret, and tell the others, too."

"Of course!" said Olaf, and went off to do exactly that.

Elsa stayed alone in her hall and pondered how she would protect the mortal girl her mother sought to kill. The ultimate protection for her would be in a sacred marriage, solemnised by the Chief of the Divines himself, elevating Anna to immortality and making her an equal...

Elsa knew she should not be thinking of such things when she did not truly know the girl, but the goddess' heart was smitten with love for her already, and Elsa swore to protect Anna, even if the mortal girl didn't love her in return.

The goddess touched the ice wall of her palace to view its memories and her mind was filled with vivid images of Anna, her freckles and her smile; her blue-green eyes wide with wonder, and closed in relaxation in the bath; her beautiful body naked under the water, and as she currently was: curled up in slumber in Elsa's own bed.

The visions were closer than the others Elsa had seen from the heavens, so vivid that when she dismissed them she felt like she knew the real Anna, felt like she had stood a hair's breadth away from her, yet Elsa had still not touched her, and Anna still did not know who she was.

Elsa could easily have slept in any other bed in her palace that night, but she was desperate to meet Anna and allay the fears she must be feeling. It would be easier to conceal her own identity in a smaller chamber; all Elsa wanted was to avoid revealing herself, and to explain to Anna that she would be safe here, and that she would not be forced to do anything against her wishes. Elsa knew she would have to try and convince Anna to stay in her realm for her safety, and she would have to do so without revealing her own identity.

The goddess crept silently into her own room and saw Anna in the flesh, in such close proximity. Her red hair looked dark against the white pillows in the half-light and Elsa could hear her gentle breaths, slow and steady in her deep sleep.

Elsa reached for her powers, for that connection with the elements of winter around her, and subtly commanded the ice of her chamber. She altered it to obscure the light and darken the room, hiding her identity if Anna should awaken.

Nervous, despite her own Divinity, Elsa slowly got into the bed beside her. She felt deceptive for hiding herself when she knew so much about Anna. And Elsa was desperate not to scare her, so she did not touch her, she simply sat by Anna's side, hoping she would wake up naturally, which was just what Anna did.

The goddess' presence shifted Anna's senses, even in sleep she felt her beauty and her power, knew the immortal soul that was innately bound to her own was near.

Anna turned in her sleep and woke when her hand connected with the warm, soft flesh of Elsa's thigh beside her.

She gasped and opened her eyes, but could see nothing, blackness instead of the dim, blue twilight of before. Anna pulled her hand away and sat up, sensing the other person in the bed with her. Anna was scared, but knew she could defend herself against any assailant, any human assailant, at least...

"Who are you?" Anna demanded, her voice higher than she had intended and quavering slightly; it was only just loud enough for Anna to hear over the sound of her thumping heartbeat.

Elsa's own heart was pounding, yet she kept her words steady when she replied. "Please don't be frightened! I can't tell you who I am, but I know who you are. This is my palace and my bed, but you're welcome to stay. I promise no harm will come to you, you'll be safe if you choose to stay here."

Anna's racing heart calmed when she heard her voice. It was a beautiful voice; soft, feminine, and it put Anna at ease. Yet knowing she was in bed with the mistress of the palace herself gave Anna a little thrill.

"Can you light a lamp?" she asked. "I'd like to see your face."

"I'm sorry, Anna," Elsa replied. "I can't let you see who I am."

"Then, can you tell me your name? Perhaps I know you already." Anna certainly felt that this woman was familiar, but she could not tell how.

"It's best if you don't know."

"Then, let me see your face," Anna asked again. "Please!"

"If you saw me, perhaps you would fear me, perhaps adore me," Elsa replied. "But I would prefer that you treat me as an equal. All I ask is for you to stay with me, Anna."

This reasoning quietened Anna. She realised she felt the same; this mysterious woman might be distracted by her own beauty if she could see her, just like all the others Anna had encountered back at her home.

But here in the darkness it was as if she and this woman were truly naked, not influenced by looks, just their bodies and souls together. Anna smiled to herself in the dark, thinking that for the first time in forever she had a chance to truly connect with someone else.

Elsa could not see Anna's face to judge her silent reaction. She hoped she would not be asking too much too soon with what she was going to suggest, but Elsa decided to try, anyway.

"If you stay here," she continued cautiously, "I promise you will be well cared for. And... if you want to, you can become my wife. Would you like that, Anna?"

Anna felt her heartbeat speed up again. There was such yearning and love in that voice, Anna had never heard anything like it before. She could feel that this woman was speaking to her as  _Anna_ , not just saying sweet words in response to seeing her beauty. Anna felt genuine care from her faintly timorous tones. But she was not quite convinced just yet.

"If I'm not allowed to see, can I touch you?" Anna asked. "So I can decide whether I want to stay?"

"Of course," Elsa said, wanting more than anything to feel Anna's touch, to connect the many images she had seen of this mortal girl to her warmth and her physical being; making her real instead of something beautiful viewed from afar.

Anna slowly reached out and felt the other woman's power before she even touched her skin. Anna could feel her aura, intense and just perceptible at the edge of her mortal senses; she knew this woman had magic and the realisation made her fingertips tingle. She brought her hands closer and felt the warmth of Elsa before she touched the soft skin of her face.

Anna's hands were on her and Elsa could sense her energy, as beautiful as her body and somehow familiar. Her touch was light at first, but becoming firmer as her confidence grew, yet always remaining gentle.

Anna touched her cheeks and stroked her jaw, then brought both her thumbs over Elsa's lips, feeling her hot breath between them, trying all the time to form a picture in her mind to match the feel of the other woman's features, but it didn't work; the sensation of her skin was too distracting, and Anna wanted to feel more.

She moved her hands down to Elsa's shoulders and the smooth skin of her toned arms. Then Anna paused, swallowing any last traces of her nervousness, and brought her hands towards each other to feel Elsa's breasts, soft beneath her dress.

Elsa's heart was beating faster than ever and she could hear Anna's breath loud in the darkness, she could almost hear her arousal awakening. The girl's palms were warm and comfortable against her nipples, but Anna did not leave them there for long and soon moved them round to take Elsa into her arms.

Elsa had to intervene and gently took hold of Anna's wrists before she could feel her wings and know her for a Divine. She guided Anna's hands and lowered them to her waist, where Anna began to feel the graceful curves of her hips.

Not thinking to question Elsa's actions, Anna caressed her slender waist, then moved her hands up, brushing her breasts briefly again, to bring her fingers back to her lips, so soft with her touch heightened in the darkness.

"I think you must be very beautiful," Anna said, and leaned closer to smell the pleasant scent of the other woman's skin and hair that she could faintly perceive, but wanted to breathe more of.

"Thank you," Elsa said softly. She could feel Anna's sweet breath close to her face, yet she knew the girl could not see the gratitude in her eyes, so Elsa decided to close the gap between them, to kiss her and show her thanks.

It was just a gentle brush of their lips, Elsa held it briefly before pulling away to try and sense Anna's reaction.

Anna realised she had been awaiting that one brief touch for a long time, and it conveyed all the love and feelings she had known were missing from everyone she knew back in the city of her birth. She had to feel more. Elsa's kiss had awoken a passion in Anna that she never thought she would be able to experience with anyone in this life.

Anna could sense her lover's face still in front of her and leaned in to kiss her again, bumping their noses together in her hurry. But Anna soon found the right position. She deepened their connection, threading her fingers through Elsa's hair until she felt her soft lips open to her. Anna followed her instincts and let her tongue enter the other woman's mouth. She had never kissed anyone before and the sensation was so warm, her mouth tasted so good, as sweet and fresh as peppermint; Anna never wanted it to end.

Light little moans arose from both lovers as their tongues entwined.

Elsa placed her hands on Anna's lower back, gently holding her, but holding back the full strength of her Divine desire, confining it to her tongue tenderly stroking Anna's. Elsa wanted her, this innocent, beautiful mortal girl, and if this was Anna wanted, too, then Elsa was more than willing to join with her tonight and show her how much she loved her, though she hoped Anna was not rushing herself.

And Anna was not rushing, simply following her desires, given confidence in the dark. She broke their kiss, loving the wet sound of their lips, loud in the darkness.

This sound was soon followed by their quickened breaths, echoing around the bedchamber, then that of fabric against skin as Anna lifted her chemise over her head.

Anna felt the night air of the bedchamber on her naked skin, neither cold nor warm, yet Anna felt liberated. She knew she would have felt different if her lover's eyes were on her naked body, but Anna guessed it would be a good different, and knew she would certainly like to see the other woman's body, though was content with just their touch. Anna heard shuffling as Elsa undressed herself and felt anticipation stir in her, knowing she would feel her lover's naked skin on her own within mere minutes.

Elsa heard and felt Anna's breath when she approached, but she backed away before the girl could try to pull her close again. Elsa reached for her hands in the darkness and took hold of them again to prevent Anna from touching her wings and discovering her Divinity. She stroked the backs of Anna's hands with her thumbs for a few brief, sweet moments before she placed Anna's hot palms on her breasts.

Anna almost forgot to breathe when she touched the soft, yielding flesh, no longer covered by her clothes. Anna fondled her lover's breasts gently, they were slightly larger than her own and the nipples were softer than velvet; Anna felt them harden as her lover shuddered with pleasure.

Elsa shifted on the bed, her arousal now urging her to touch her mortal lover, too.

Anna felt hot wetness and hair brush briefly against her knee before the other woman came closer, and a jolt of arousal and excitement stirred in her stomach when she realised it was her lover's womanhood.

She had never done anything like this with someone else before, but the dark gave her courage; Anna could sense how much Elsa wanted her when she couldn't even see her. Her lover didn't want Anna for her beauty, she wanted  _her_ , and Anna wanted her, too... Even more when Anna felt Elsa's warm hands make contact with her own breasts. Anna raised her hands to run them through her lover's smooth hair, now loosened from its braid.

Elsa gave Anna's breasts the same attention, and caressed and kissed them until her nipples were stiff and sensitive.

Anna had never felt anything this intense, even the lightest touch of her lover's lips or fingertips on her erect nipples sent jolts of pleasure through her and made her core throb with heat, drawing little moans from her with every movement.

Elsa brought her mouth up to place many tender, open-mouthed kisses on Anna's neck and gave her breasts a final squeeze before holding her close and stroking her back, feeling the other girl's sweat on her fingertips.

Their breasts pressed together and the sensation of her lover's stiff nipples against her own made Anna gasp; she had never felt anything like it before, every touch this woman bestowed on her transported Anna to another realm of pleasure, beyond anything Anna had ever experienced. And she wanted more.

Elsa knew they both now needed their release, but she wanted to make sure Anna was ready. "Are you sure you want this, Anna?" she asked. "We can stop whenever you want."

Her low, breathy voice and loving tone made Anna ache even more for her touch.

"Just tell me and I - "

"Don't stop!" Anna interrupted desperately. "Please, make me your wife..."

Elsa was glad beyond words and smiled to herself before tenderly kissing Anna's lips.

She gently pushed her back onto the bed and pressed light kisses down her tense body. Anna could feel her hot breath with every caress of her lips and knew where their destination was. She spread her legs in anticipation.

Elsa found Anna's lower lips just as sweet as her others when she dipped her tongue between the curling hair of Anna's crotch and into her slit.

Anna gave a gasp of elation at the amazing sensation, beyond anything she had imagined.

Elsa traced her tongue through Anna's soaked folds, loving the wet sounds each of her movements produced, and Anna's cries and gasps encouraged Elsa to do her best to please her.

She licked up to Anna's nub of pleasure, which was hard and sensitive and felt good against her lips. Elsa teased it with her tongue, circling around it, occasionally flicking over it, every action causing high-pitched whines to escape from Anna's lips above her.

Elsa slowly brought her tongue down to brush her entrance, then back up to her bud, every movement sent shockwaves of pleasure through Anna's whole being, but it wasn't enough, Anna needed to feel her lover inside her. "Please...!" she gasped.

Elsa knew what she wanted and gladly slid two fingers into Anna and stroked inside her hot, wet core while she licked her juices off her lips and chin, savouring her taste. She wished she could see Anna blush, but had to be content with hearing her cries and feeling her hands grip her arms, feeling the muscles of her sex clench and shudder around her fingers.

She heard Anna's moans subside into trembling breaths as she rejoined Elsa from her brief journey into pure bliss. Elsa was aware of her own almost painful arousal by the time she eased her fingers out of Anna's centre, and her body tensed when Anna touched her, such pleasure had she received from bringing this mortal girl to ecstasy.

Anna felt her lover stiffen when she stroked her arm, and heard her shuddering breath, sensing desperation. She knew how the other woman must feel, how she must ache for Anna's touch inside her, as Anna herself had done for her.

Anna moved her hand down into her lover's patch of hair and wondered at its colour before bringing her other hand to cup the firm cheek of her behind.

Elsa moved closer to straddle her, ready to let Anna take her into pleasure, the closest thing mortals had to magic.

Anna felt the comfortable weight of her lover's warm body on top of her and could smell the heady scent of her arousal as she spread her legs and gave Anna's fingers access to her awaiting core.

They slipped smoothly inside, Anna felt her own arousal awaken again when her fingers were surrounded by the hot wetness of her lover's sex and she felt her essence drip onto her palm, but she concentrated on taking the other woman to the same rapturous realm from which she had recently returned.

Elsa moaned and thrust Anna's fingers deeper into her, the sensation of Anna inside her was so intense; Elsa had never given anyone the privilege of touching her like this before, and she knew that she would never need anyone other than Anna, Anna knew what to do, her every touch sent thrills of pleasure throughout her Divine being.

Anna curled her fingers to reach that sensitive area of flesh that always felt good for her when she touched herself. She rubbed and pressed inside her lover, in no doubt that she was bringing her just as much bliss.

Elsa's whole body tensed when she reached her climax, her back arched, and her wings spread above her, invisible in the darkness, while a loud cry of elation escaped from her lips and echoed around the room.

When the sensations faded, too soon and yet it had seemed to almost last a lifetime, Elsa relaxed and her breathing returned to normal again. Anna did not know it, but she had just given the goddess the most pleasurable experience of her immortal life.

Anna broke their connection, removing her soaked fingers from inside her lover and shuffling back to sit and face her. Anna was beginning to get used to feeling and sensing rather than seeing, and she could tell that if there was light, she would be looking right into the other woman's eyes; not for the first time, Anna wondered what colour they were.

Elsa took her hands in both of hers and leaned in to kiss her lips. "Thank you, Anna," she said, the depth of her feelings showing in her melodious voice.

"I should be thanking you," Anna replied. "You brought me here, you've given me such wonderful things, and made me your wife. And I'm so grateful." Anna squeezed her hands. "But... more than anything I'd like to see your face. Just for a moment!"

"Why do you still want to see me?" Elsa asked softly in return and kissed her cheek. "Have you any doubt of my love?" She kissed Anna's other cheek. "Here you have everything you could ever need." She tenderly stroked Anna's tousled hair, feeling the breath from her parted lips on her face. "You can live here safely as my wife and I promise that when the time is right, I'll reveal myself." She kissed Anna's mouth, lightly running her tongue over her bottom lip. "Say you'll stay, Anna," Elsa entreated. "Please?"

"I will," Anna whispered, her heart fluttering from her lover's caresses; she had to ensure she felt her touch again, Anna was sure that as long as she could just be with her, then it would be easy to wait until she showed her true identity. This was better than the worship she received at her home, and Anna knew she could not return there, anyway, she knew she would be happy here.

"Promise you won't try to see me, Anna. I have to keep myself concealed, for many important reasons."

"I promise," Anna said. "Just being with you is enough."

Still holding hands, they both lay down side by side in Elsa's bed, occasionally exchanging whispered words and kisses, until Elsa's soft caresses and the rhythm of her heart and breathing soothed Anna into sleep.

Elsa listen to Anna's own breathing become deep and relaxed, as it had been when she first joined her in this bed, and she listened to the peaceful sound, pleased that this precious girl whom she loved had agreed to stay with her. Elsa knew they would be able to live a happy life together here away from Summer's wrath.

The goddess lay down on her stomach, resting her head on her arms and folding her wings along her back to sleep herself. But she did not sleep for long. When she felt the faintest glow of dawn in the east illuminating her bedchamber from the window, Elsa arose and looked at Anna's beautiful figure beside her, able to see her at last in the rosy light. Elsa was tempted to place a kiss on her freckled shoulder, but she merely looked at Anna for a few brief seconds, knowing even that was risking too much.

She conjured an ice dress for herself and silently left the bed and then the room; Elsa would make sure that Olaf looked after the one she loved and directed her to this room again when darkness had covered the land once more.

Hours later, Anna awoke to an empty bed but with a comfortable ache in her body and memories of her lover's touch in her mind... Memories of her  _wife's_  touch; they may not have been officially married yet but Anna was in no doubt that they would be.

She rolled over in the bed and briefly buried her face in the pillows, where the scent of Anna's lover still faintly lingered.

Anna had countless questions about her identity and the secrets she was hiding, but the Princess let them rest and concentrated on the fact that this mysterious woman clearly loved her enough to let her live in her palace and sleep in her bed.

The palace itself was clearly magical, as were the servants... But the stillness and beauty of the place were a welcome contrast to the city in which Anna had spent her whole life up until now. And Anna knew she had not even begun to explore the wonders of this realm.

After a few minutes of watching the sunbeams glitter and shine around the bedchamber, Anna decided to start the day with another wonderful bath, so she shrugged into her chemise and made her way to the nearby bathroom.

The doors opened and closed for her and the taps turned on by themselves again, but Anna was beginning to get used to the palace now that she had been there for a day; the place almost seemed to have its own personality.

She lowered herself into the bath and let the warmth of the water surround her again. The heat reminded Anna of her lover and the comfort of her bed, the way they had shared the warmth of each other's bodies under the covers before they slept.

Anna wanted to share so much more with her, wanted to spend every moment of the day with her, not just the night. Anna wanted her here right now, in the bath with her, she wanted to watch the water cascade from her perfect curves and see her face blush amidst the steam. She tried again to imagine what the woman looked like, but her mind couldn't summon anything specific, yet Anna could remember the feel of her body vividly, and her skin, so soft and beautiful against her fingers... So she contented herself with those memories whist she washed herself until she was clean.

Wrapped in another exquisitely soft towel, Anna wandered back to the bedroom to look for some of her wife's clothes that she could wear, knowing she wouldn't mind if she borrowed them.

Yet even though Anna searched the whole room, she could find no clothes at all. What was even more unusual was that Anna found her own clothes that she had worn yesterday neatly folded on the bed, clean and fresh-smelling.

But Anna decided not to question it and dressed herself before heading towards the dining room to sate her hunger.

She found the hall illuminated with light shining from the windows high in the walls, the bright beams making the ice all around glow with beauty.

The table was laid with fruits and sweet cakes, which Anna soon began to taste. After a little while, she was joined by Olaf, who kept her company while she ate.

Once Anna had finished, she and the snowman spend the day exploring the Vale of Winter and all the wonders it contained. She didn't ask Olaf about his mistress, respecting what she had said last night about not trying to discover her identity. But Anna and Olaf discussed Elsa briefly, the snowman remembering not to give anything away, and Anna not mentioning the intimacies they had shared, but both agreeing on how kind and generous she was.

Throughout the day, Anna's mind often drifted towards night and to her wife, her cheeks would blush when she remembered her caresses, her soft words and her even softer lips... Luckily, Olaf didn't seem to notice and the two of them had a lot of fun together. The day passed quickly and when the sky darkened, the snowman and the Princess returned to the palace.

There was another meal waiting for Anna, as lavish as the one last night, and equally delicious. She tasted flavours she had never encountered before, but Anna wished she could share them with her lover and see her soft lips eat and her skilled tongue lick... Anna hoped her wife would return tonight once she had retired to bed again; Anna was confident that she would.

After she was comfortably full, and had said goodnight to Olaf and the other snowmen, Anna happily climbed the stairs and opened the door to the bedchamber, eager to feel Elsa again, to just be with her, regardless of whether she knew her name or saw her face.

The room was dark again, as black as ink when Anna entered and the door closed behind her, so Anna felt blindly in front of her until she reached the bed and began to undress.

Just when she had grown comfortable with the complete darkness, Anna felt rather than heard someone enter the room, and not by the door. Immediately she began to panic and felt her heart racing as her spine prickled with the knowledge that she was at her most vulnerable; naked and sightless in the dark. Anna's dress fell from her hands to the floor.

"Anna?"

She heard the familiar soft voice from last night and her heart jumped so much that Anna thought it would leap out of her chest. "You're here!" Anna said, breathless with her joy. "I missed you!"

Elsa quickly and quietly removed her own dress with her powers before approaching Anna from behind. She placed a hand on her shoulder when she reached her, remembering Anna's freckles as she had seen them in the morning light. "I missed you, too," Elsa said and wrapped her arms around the shorter girl's waist, embracing her and breathing in the scent of her hair. "I have known many pleasures in my life, Anna, but none of them can compare to that of being with you," Elsa murmured.

"I feel the same!" Anna replied. Her lover's breasts were pressing against her back, her arms were around her, holding her close; in the darkness, it was just Anna and her wife in the whole world, and it was wonderful.

"Oh, Anna..." Elsa whispered, and kissed the spot just behind her ear.

Anna moaned softly, wishing she knew the other woman's name so she could say it, but still appreciating her closeness. She moved her own hand down behind her to feel the smooth skin of her lover's firm thigh and raised the other to stroke her slender wrist until Elsa moved her hands and cupped Anna's breasts.

She massaged them, the yielding flesh soft and sensitive in Elsa's hands, every one of her movements provoking little sighs of pleasure from Anna. Elsa stroked the skin just under her nipples with her fingertips until she felt them stiffen, her own nipples hardening in response and pressing into Anna's back.

Anna gasped as her lover's touch made her breasts tingle, and moaned when she gently pulled her nipples until they ached. When her lover lightly stroked the tips of them, Anna felt shudders of pleasure surge right through her. The feeling of warm, soft lips on her neck combined with the magic of her other touches began to make Anna unravel already.

Anna reached up to stroke her wife's face, and a strand of her long hair brushed against her wrist, silky and soft. With such beautiful sensations taking hold of her, Anna didn't think it could get any better, but she was wrong.

Elsa eased two of her fingers into Anna's wet slit, up through her folds until she reached her sensitive nub of nerve endings and pressed against it, finding it hard and making Anna tense against her, gasping breathlessly with the sensation. She took the swollen bud gently between her two fingers, doing the same with one of Anna's nipples in her other hand. Elsa rolled both them briefly with her fingers and was rewarded with a series of breathless moans from Anna; Elsa knew it wouldn't take much to finish her now.

She stoked her fingers down, the wet noise they made rising to Anna's ears, which she could just hear over the loud beating of her heart and the sound of her lover's breathing on her neck, but all was drowned out by Anna's own cry of pleasure when Elsa's fingers entered her. Anna felt her legs go weak when her wife began to gently and rhythmically move her fingers in and out of her centre.

Feeling her almost slip, Elsa removed her hand from Anna's breast and put her arm around her waist, where it was clutched tightly by both of Anna's hands. Elsa held her up, supporting Anna as she continued to coax her towards her climax.

Her lover's slender and skilful fingers soon brought Anna over the edge and it felt almost as if she was falling through time and space in the darkness, the only things she could feel were pure pleasure and her lover's arm encircling her.

Elsa held her panting body until Anna stood, her legs able to support herself again, her hands still clinging to Elsa's arm. She eased her fingers out and brought them to Anna's mouth, sliding them between her lips as she had done with those below. Elsa felt Anna's hot tongue brush her fingers, tasting herself on them.

Anna found the tang of her own juices on her lover's fingers so sensual; it meant Anna was truly hers, had given herself to this mysterious and wonderful woman in every way. Anna took hold of her hand and cleaned herself from her lover's fingers, then laced them with her own.

"I want to taste  _you_ ," Anna said. She wanted to know everything about her, and if she still could not know how her lover looked, she wanted to know how she tasted, at least. And the feeling of the other woman's tongue touching her secret place last night had felt so good; Anna wanted to do the same for her.

Hearing Anna say those words sent a throb of heat and anticipation right to Elsa's core. She wanted to feel the warmth of Anna's tongue within her folds, though Elsa could not lie down under her - as Anna had done last night - since her wings would prevent her. But there was another way.

"Lie down on the bed," Elsa said softly, and kissed Anna's cheek before she left her embrace to do so. She heard shuffling as Anna lay down on her back, then felt for her in the dark to position herself.

Elsa carefully placed her knees on each side of Anna's head and held herself up over her face, with her wings spread for balance, not that either of them could see in the darkness.

Anna couldn't see, but she could smell the scent and feel the warmth of Elsa's centre, so close to her. It was so arousing that Anna felt wetness gather in her own core again, yet she wished she could see the view.

"Are you ready?" Elsa asked, though she could tell she was; Anna's hands were around her thighs and Elsa could feel her hot breath against her womanhood.

"Yes," Anna replied, gently gripping her thighs in her eagerness.

With the soft blast of breath from that single word, Elsa couldn't hold back anymore and lowered her hips, slowly, not wanting to overwhelm Anna.

When Anna's lips connected with her lover's lower ones, she immediately extended her tongue to lick and was surrounded by her taste, like both salt and sweetness, but indescribable and delicious. Anna pulled her closer, encouraging her wife to put her whole weight on her chest, and buried her face deeper until her nose nudged the bundle of sensitivity within her slit.

Anna heard a whimper above her and stroked her lover's thighs while she rhythmically licked up and down the soaked flesh in front of her, feeling the texture of her folds, from her entrance up to the hardened bud at the top.

Elsa could not stop herself from rolling her hips against Anna's face in time to her movements, and the cries that came unbidden from her lips where so loud... The feelings Anna inspired in Elsa made her lose control.

Anna's mouth and chin were soaked with her wife's wetness, and she could feel herself growing wetter with each passing moment, though Anna could not tell how long they had been like this, since her whole world was composed of the scent and the taste of her lover; the feeling of her hips grinding against Anna's mouth and her sensual cries in her ears.

She had never experienced anything so intense before and Anna loved every moment of it. She had to remember to breathe, but hated leaving the warmth and wetness of her wife's sex, and only took quick, short breaths when she absolutely had to.

As the pleasure built in both of them and she could feel Elsa begin to tense above her, Anna began to touch herself at the same time, mirroring the pleasurable movements of her fingers in her centre with her tongue in her lover's, and moaned into her.

Elsa's own moans grew louder than they had ever been when she felt the pressure of the pleasure Anna was giving her tighten and release itself, making every nerve in her Divine body burn with bliss.

Anna felt the muscles of her lover's sex contract and shudder against her tongue as her cries continued to come freely.

Once the waves of pleasure had subsided, Elsa climbed off her beloved, her muscles still faintly aching from the powerful climax Anna had just given her, she lay down next to her and felt in the darkness until she found her hand.

"Thank you, Anna," she said, squeezing her hand. "I've never felt anything so... wonderful before!"

Anna was still silently licking her essence from her lips, savouring every drop of her unique flavour, yet she paused to answer. "Me neither, but..."

"What is it?" her lover asked, briefly gripping her hand.

Anna could feel her sweet breath as she leaned closer and felt her body press against her own.

"I need you to touch me again. Please..." Anna could barely get the words out, conscious of the heat throbbing in her centre in reaction to her lover's closeness.

Elsa smiled in the darkness, glad that pleasing her had worked up Anna's desire again. And she happily obliged, sliding her fingers into Anna's wet core for the second time that night.

A few quick strokes with her slender fingers on the sweet spot inside her while Anna writhed beneath her in pleasure was all it took before she quivered, gasped and collapsed onto the pillows.

"I... I think I'm in love with you," Anna said when she felt her lover lace her fingers with her own and begin to softly stroke her side with her other hand. Anna knew it seemed totally crazy, loving a woman she had only known for two nights and had never even seen, but it just felt... right.

"I'm in love with you, too," Elsa replied, and continued to stroke her beloved's body until she fell into a sleep of happy satisfaction. Once she heard the rhythm of Anna's sleeping breaths, Elsa joined her in sleep for a few hours until dawn came again.

Time went by and Anna soon became used to the pleasurable routine of life in the palace. There was an abundance of wonderful things to see and do during the day, along with an abundance of fine food and drink, and the company of the snowmen.

Elsa returned with the night, always when Anna was already in her bed, never before. They exchanged many words and embraces of love, becoming closer with each of their couplings. Both viewed the other as her wife and vowed to stay together forever.

Elsa still left before the morning light. Despite Anna's repeated pleading and begging for her to stay and let her behold her, Elsa would not consent; she never told Anna her name or who she was.

But the hours that they were together were full of love, and Anna loved her mysterious wife more than anyone or anything she had cared for before; she had never even dreamed that such feelings were possible. Anna's heart would always race when she felt rather than saw her wife was near.

"Will I ever get to see your face?" Anna asked one night, stroking her cheek while she felt the pleasure of their latest union fade, letting its glow almost light up the darkness.

"Some day soon," Elsa said, stroking Anna's soft cheek in return. "Soon we shall be truly married and when we are, you will live with me forever; we can even have a child together." Elsa had hinted to Anna before that she was immortal, but now she had confirmed any suspicions she had that she had access to powers beyond most mortals' dreams.

But Elsa knew that she could only reveal herself to Anna once her mother's anger had faded, and even though plenty of time had passed, Summer was still seeking her revenge. When questioned, Elsa said merely that she had taken care of Anna, which was not a lie, yet she tried to avoid her mother as much as she could.

Her lover stroked Anna's smooth stomach and she imagined it swelling with their child, thinking that nothing could make her happier. Anna compromised with her promise, which she believed with every atom of her being.

But at length, Anna thought of the family she had left behind in ignorance of her fate and prevented from sharing the delights of her situation. This preyed on her mind and made Anna begin to feel that her palace was just something akin to a splendid prison.

When her wife came to her one night, Anna told her of her distress and at last drew from her an unwilling consent that her sisters would be brought to see her.

Anna had not seen either of them since their weddings and she wanted their advice, their blessings now that she was all but married herself.

She told Elsa about her sisters and how they had always been good to her when they were children together. Hearing the loneliness in Anna's voice and once again regretting not being able to truly give her beloved the company she needed, Elsa made preparations as soon as she had left when the morning came, preparations for the North Wind to bring the two women to her realm as soon as possible.

When Ariel and Giselle arrived later in the day, they were both confused and frightened after their journey and clung to each other before they saw Anna running towards them.

She took her older sisters by their hands and proceeded to tell them all about what had happened.

Both Giselle and Ariel were overjoyed that their little sister was alive and well, not dead as their parents had told them. But the two older women both thought this was a mysterious place, and especially since Anna seemed to be living here all alone.

The three sisters didn't know, but Olaf and the other servants had been ordered by Elsa to stay hidden while strangers were in the realm, so they would not spread rumours when they returned home.

Anna and her sisters sat sipping sweet wine at the full table, which had been prepared for them before their arrival. Anna chatted to them about her life here and about her wife, leaving out the more intimate details, but telling them of all the love she felt for her and all she received in return.

"So," Ariel said, putting her glass on the table and regarding her youngest sister. "Who exactly is your wife?"

"She's a... a rich merchant," Anna replied. She made up the answer off the top of her head, since she had not anticipated being questioned about her wife; Anna thought they would be more concerned with  _her_.

Giselle and Ariel shared a brief glance, both had seen their sister falter, and this palace was not like any merchants' houses they had ever seen, with all its celestial delights.

"What does she look like?" Giselle asked, watching Anna's expression shift again.

"She has long hair," Anna said, with confidence, she knew that much was true since she had felt her lover's silky hair on many occasions. "And her eyes are... brown. No!" Anna thought brown eyes didn't suit her somehow. "They're blue! She has blue eyes."

Silence descended around the hall as Anna's sisters looked at each other again. They had always been able to tell when their littlest sister was lying.

"Anna, you've never seen her, have you?" Ariel asked, though her tone was more that of a statement.

"How did you...?" Anna sighed, realising they had discovered the secret she had been trying to keep. "No. I haven't seen her. But that doesn't mean I don't love her! And she loves me!"

"If she really loves you then she wouldn't keep secrets from you. Especially not about her own identity," Giselle said, voicing a thought that had been in the back of Anna's mind since her first night in the palace.

"If you don't know what she looks like, then maybe she's not even human!" Ariel wondered aloud. "Remember the prophecy? Mother and Father told us it said you were destined not to have a mortal wife. She might be a monster!"

"She could be keeping you here to fatten you up and eat you!" Giselle added, genuinely worried for her sister.

"No, my wife's not a monster. That's ridiculous!" Anna retorted.

"How do you know if you've never seen her?" Giselle said, trying to make her see how dangerous her situation might be.

Anna bit her lip and considered what they had said. She had known her sisters all her life, but had only known her wife for mere months or days, Anna wasn't sure how many... She knew she should at least listen to what Ariel and Giselle were telling her.

"I don't..." Anna admitted, quietly, and because of her sisters' words, the seed of doubt in Anna's mind began to blossom into true suspicion.

Her sisters were simply concerned for her safety, and told her such things out of love for Anna, but their words caused only harm. They told her she should defend herself and urged her to do everything to discover her wife's identity.

The time soon came for the sisters to say farewell and Anna escorted them back to the hill at the entrance to the Vale of Winter, where the North Wind carried Ariel and Giselle safely back to their homes.

Anna resisted her suspicions as well as she could. A few nights went by and Anna tried to forget about the doubts she was having about her wife. Anna kissed her and touched her, thinking the other woman felt human, with her soft hands and her soft words...

But what her sisters had said did not fail to have an effect on Anna's mind; their words and her own curiosity were too strong for her to resist.

So she secretly prepared a lamp and a sharp knife that she had found among the palace's treasures and hid them out of sight of her wife, one morning when their bedroom was bathed in bright sunlight and she was alone.

That night, after they had made love, Anna stayed awake, keeping silent in the dark. When she heard the other woman's breathing come slower and steadier than she had ever heard it before, Anna knew she was asleep. She carefully put her robe on to cover her nakedness and left the bed to take out the lamp and the blade that she had concealed beneath it.

Kneeling on the cold floor, Anna felt in the darkness until she found the matches. Striking one as silently as she could, Anna held it to the candle within the lamp until it was lit. Then she took up the blade that lay next to it on the floor, holding the lamp in her other hand, and rose to her feet to discover the truth about the woman she had grown to love, to discover whether what her sisters told her was correct, or whether her own loving instincts had been right all along.

Anna raised the lamp... and beheld not a hideous monster, but the most beautiful of the Divines. She lay on her stomach, with her breasts bulging beneath her and her head resting on her arms. Her loose long hair was the palest shade of gold and flowed over her snow-white neck and shoulders. Indeed, all of her skin was pure white, except for her cheeks, blushed from the warmth of sleep.

Anna looked down her form to the curves of her waist and hips that she had caressed so often with her hands but was now finally able to do the same with her eyes.

She was not a monster, she was beautiful, too beautiful to be human. And Anna knew she was most definitely not human from the two magnificent wings on her back, like a swan's only much larger, whiter than snow and with shining feathers like tender blossoms.

Anna took a step closer and found that she recognised her from statues and paintings... She was in the presence of Elsa, the goddess of winter herself.

All this happened so fast. As soon as she took in Elsa's beauty, Anna was struck through the heart by True Love, and the force of her feelings was so strong that her knees felt weak and the lamp and blade fell from her hands to the floor.

The lamp did not smash but stayed whole as the flame flickered, but the knife clattered when it hit the icy floor and the harsh noise of it rang through the bedchamber, causing the goddess to stir. Her eyes opened, revealing their colour to be deep blue, as Anna had thought they would be.

Elsa gasped when she awoke to light. She turned to see the lamp and the knife on the floor, and her lover staring at her with wide eyes.

"Anna..." she whispered, hurt that her beloved had gone against her word when she had done so much to ensure her safety. Elsa rushed off the bed and towards the window, clambering onto the sill to launch herself into the night and return as soon as she had decided what to do.

But Anna snapped out of her trance when she saw her lover leaving. "Wait! Please!" she cried, dashing after Elsa. Anna wrapped her arms around Elsa's waist just as she took to the air, and with a few beats of her mighty wings, they had both flown out of the Vale of Winter.

Anna felt elated to finally be able to both touch and see the one she loved, to know who she was at last, and to discover that she was one of the Divines. She clung tighter to Elsa's waist, thrilled by the feeling of flying for the second time, though this was better than the first because she was with Elsa. The goddess was naked and glorious above her in the night sky; the moonlight made her white skin and pale hair seem to glow, and her soft hands clung tenderly to Anna's arms to make sure she did not fall.

Anna knew her wife would forgive her and they could be together, able to love each other in the light, just like she had wished. Anna closed her eyes in bliss as Elsa held her close and swooped down to land, but her beloved let go of her as soon as their feet touched the ground.

Seeing Elsa's troubled expression, Anna decided to explain, though her nervousness and elation took hold of her tongue and made her words come quickly. "I'm sorry I went against your wishes. But my sisters were worried and I was worried, too, since I never saw you; we thought you were a monster! But I'm glad I found out who you really are... Elsa!" Anna smiled, saying her beloved's name for the first time.

Yet Elsa's expression was still dark with worry and disappointment. "Oh Anna, is that how you repay my love and everything I did for you?" she asked, feeling all her plans begin to unravel. "After I disobeyed my mother's commands and made you my wife, kept you safe from her anger, you suspected I was a monster?"

"Elsa, no! I - "

"Go," the goddess said, turning her tear-filled eyes away from Anna's. "Return to your sisters, whose advice you seem to value more than mine. I inflict no punishment on you other than to leave you. Whatever is between us isn't love if you cannot trust me." Heartbroken, she leapt into the air and flew away.

"Elsa! Don't go!" Anna called after her, and tried to run, but the goddess' flight was swift and soon she was out of sight. Anna was left alone, with only the stars and her sorrowful tears to accompany her through the night.

And that was how Theros saw her, curled up alone and crying, her beauty diminished by her tears. The summer goddess thought Anna pitiful and decided to leave her in her misery for now.

She sat in the viewing-place of the Divines and wondered how Anna had avoided her detection up to now. She suspected Elsa's influence, since she was the one who was supposed to punish the mortal girl, but whatever it was had stopped.

Theros went to investigate and travelled with the dawn to her daughter's realm. She found the goddess in her bedchamber, curled up and crying, dressed in a gown as grey as the bleak midwinter; she did not notice her arrival at first.

Elsa was lost in her thoughts, hurt that Anna had not trusted her and angry at herself that she had even caused her lover to have such suspicions. She knew she should have just told her the truth from the start, but she could not change the past; her Divine powers did not extend that far. And Elsa was worried about Anna's safety, even now. When she saw that her mother had entered the room, she knew everything was ruined.

The summer goddess got an explanation from her daughter, who was too upset to lie or fight, since she had made enough mistakes already.

Theros scolded her daughter and took her, as if she was a child, back to her own Realm of Summer, where Elsa could sulk to herself in her chamber there, where the summer goddess could watch over her and ensure she would not interfere again.

When the light of day returned to the mortal world, it shone on Anna, and as she awoke, so too did hope awaken within her. Anna remembered the love she and Elsa had shared, how strong and real and true it was. She knew Elsa felt it, too, and would forgive and forget the mistake Anna had made if she could see her again and explain.

She stood up from the ground where her wife had left her, in a land she didn't know, but Anna was determined to win Elsa's trust again and return to her side, to become the wife of Winter, as she knew she was destined to be.

After a few hours of walking, guided unwittingly by destiny, Anna found herself in a small town, where she managed to beg some food from a kind couple who lived there. Once she had thanked them for their generosity and left their poor but comfortable home, Anna noticed the largest buildings in the town, standing tall above the houses and market stalls. Her Fate led her closer and Anna went to investigate.

The first of the four buildings that Anna entered revealed itself to be a temple to the goddess of autumn, though it was in a state of disrepair. The flowers at the altar were withered, all the candles had long burnt out and the whole building was covered in a thin layer of dust.

The Princess guessed that the town's small population had been too busy with the harvest to observe the proper rites here, so she decided to respect the goddess whose season it currently was by setting the temple in order herself. Now that Anna knew her lover was one of the Divines, she knew she should propitiate them all to show them that she really was worthy of being Elsa's wife.

Anna swept and dusted the floor and the altar, lit new candles for the goddess and brought fresh flowers for her statue. Then she knelt before the image of the autumn goddess and prayed silently for guidance and mercy from her and all the Divines.

The queen of autumn, who was at her full strength at this time, the height of her season, saw Anna's deeds from on high. Her Divine heart was touched by the girl's piety, despite the hardship she had faced at the hands of Autumn's fellow Divines, so the goddess decided to descend to earth and give Anna the words of pity and wisdom that she needed.

Anna felt something shift in the air around her and a shiver ran up her spine. She was compelled to raise her head from her prayers and when she did, Anna saw a beautiful woman with curly russet-coloured hair and gentle brown eyes looking down at her. She was just like the statues and paintings that surrounded them in the temple, and Anna knew she was in the presence of Autumn herself.

"Anna," the goddess said, her voice as sweet as her smile, and her lips as red as ripe apples. "Thank you for showing me honour when all the people of this town have been too busy harvesting the gifts I have given them to do so."

"Divine One, it's my pleasure," Anna replied, averting her eyes and bowing her head to show how true her words were. "But... in exchange, can you help me? Please? I'm in a land I do not know, where I have no friends, far away from my home. And I'm trying to find my wife, whom I love so much... But I don't know where she is or even how I'd get there if I did, since she's a Divine like you, and I've made her angry with me," she said, fighting back her tears. "Please can you help me to find her again?"

"You need not fear losing your wife's love," the goddess replied. "Your beloved Elsa's disappointment will soon fade, since she loves you dearly. But, Anna, you should know that all your misfortune has been caused by Summer. She is still offended by the worship that the people of your kingdom gave you in her place."

Anna's eyes widened as she realised the seriousness of her situation; she was dealing with powers far beyond her understanding, yet Anna knew she had to do everything she could to see Elsa again. "What can I do to earn her forgiveness?"

"Though I cannot shield you from Summer's anger, I can tell you how best to allay her displeasure," Autumn replied, seeing Anna's face light up with her words. "Go and surrender yourself to my kinswoman Theros as her servant. Try by modesty and submission to win her forgiveness, and perhaps her favour will restore you the wife you have lost."

Before Anna could thank her, the goddess disappeared in a burst of orange light, leaving the mortal girl still kneeling in her temple, thankful that she now knew what she must do.

Anna followed the advice of Autumn and made her way to the temple of Summer, which stood nearby. She passed Elsa's temple on the way and was tempted to go inside to try and speak to her, but Anna continued past it, deciding that it would be wise to gain the favour of her mother before she tried to approach the goddess herself.

She paused outside the huge closed doors of Theros' temple, endeavouring to fortify her mind and decide what she should say to appease the goddess' anger. When Anna had delayed for much longer than she meant to, she opened the doors and stepped inside.

But as soon as her foot crossed the threshold, Anna felt herself pulled backwards and up into the air by another Divine wind, warmer than the last one. It was the South Wind, Summer's servant, and it carried her swiftly over warm lands, rich with green leaves and strong-scented flowers.

Summer's realm was green where Winter's was white, but Anna felt heat here, though she had not been bothered by the cold in the Vale of Winter. Before Anna could contemplate the reason why, the wind had set her down in the middle of a forest. The trees here were so dense, not like the wonderful white ones surrounding Elsa's ice palace. Anna longed for their cool beauty as she walked through the tree trunks; the heat beneath the humid leaves was almost stifling.

She walked a little way ahead and soon Anna saw a grand palace, larger than Elsa's, with golden pillars and golden roofs gleaming in the light.

In the magnificent entranceway stood a tall woman, golden-haired and clad in red, lovely to look at but her gold-brown eyes regarded Anna sternly.

The mortal girl recognised her as Theros, the goddess of summer. Anna bowed low, the first time she had done so in all her life, since she was usually the one being bowed to.

"Have you come to see your wife whom you betrayed?" Theros asked, approaching Anna.

"I- I wish to make it up to her," she replied, averting her gaze. "I wish to earn her forgiveness and yours, too, O mighty queen of summer."

"My daughter does not easily grant forgiveness," the goddess lied, her lips curling in amusement when she saw Anna's hurt expression. "I, however, will give you my pardon if you become my servant here and do all that I command, until I see fit to free you. And maybe, if you prove yourself worthy to become Winter's wife, I will allow you to see her again."

Anna naturally agreed to these conditions and took her place in Summer's household as a lowly servant. Theros delighted in treating Anna like a slave after having watched the girl receive worship in her place, and set her menial chores to do, satisfied that Anna had been reduced to what the goddess thought she deserved.

The Princess had never done a day's work in her life, but she was quick to learn. Anna hurt her soft hands from sweeping floors and scrubbing clothes in her days filled with hard labour, and her back during her nights sleeping on the floor in the servants' quarters with Summer's other mortal slaves; two old women who were envious of her youth and beauty. Her time in the Summer realm was not easy or happy, but Anna did not care if it would bring her back to Elsa.

The Palace was not of a Divine substance such as Elsa's, but it was like one from Anna's own world, and had to be cleaned in just the same way. She had watched the servants in her youth so she knew what to do, but it was difficult for the Princess, after living her life of luxury for so long.

Elsa, meanwhile, was staying in her bedroom on the other side of the vast palace; Summer ensured she never went near Anna, and they remained separated under one roof, yet thought of each other more often than they had before as their souls called to one another, sensing the presence of the one they loved.

And it came to pass that one day, Elsa happened to glance out of a window whilst wandering the golden halls of Summer's palace and saw a sight that her Divine eyes had never been more glad to see.

Anna stood sweeping the palace courtyard, her red hair bright in the sunlight and her freckled face flushed from her exercise. She was singing softly to herself, her voice as sweet as the last time Elsa had heard it.

But the goddess was too worried to go to her, knowing she had hurt Anna's feelings deeply by abandoning her, and Elsa was reluctant to go against Summer again, especially in her own realm.

So Elsa watched and decided to wait, to see what her mother had planned. Elsa knew she could watch Anna in secret and protect her with all the powers she had. Though she gave in to her desperation to see Anna happy and decided to do one small act of kindness while she watched over her. Elsa kissed her palm and blew a cool breeze from it towards her beloved, who closed her eyes and sighed with pleasure, but did not see the source of the welcome wind.

Anna paused from her work, letting her loose hair drift around her face in the refreshing breeze and finding her mind drifting inexplicably to Elsa. She had hope, as she rested for that moment, hope that soon she would be reunited with her Divine lover, that they would be reconciled and could truly marry and join together as wives.

But Anna's brief rest was interrupted by her mistress' low tones calling her name loudly across the courtyard. The redhead jumped at the sound and stood up straight, grabbing the broom in both hands to make it seem she had not been wasting time.

"Anna!" Theros called, the crimson silk of her gown flowing behind her as she approached.

"Yes, Queen Theros?" Anna replied, bowing her head.

"Since you seem to have finished here," the goddess said, her eyes travelling over Anna and the clean courtyard. "I have a new task for you. There is a certain box of mine that is currently in the possession of my sister, Spring. You are to go to her palace and collect it for me. But have no fear, you do not need to steal it, she is expecting you."

"May I ask what the box contains, Divine One?" Anna enquired, following the summer goddess back into the palace.

"No, you may not. What's inside is a secret for the knowledge of my kind alone. I doubt you could open it anyway, with only your mortal strength."

Her mother's voice faded from Elsa's hearing as they entered the palace and out of her sight. But Elsa knew Theros had not revealed her true intentions to Anna, and her Divine intuition warned her to watch over the one she loved. So the winter goddess leapt from the ledge of the open window and took herself to the Divine seat of seeing to watch Anna from afar.

And Elsa was right to suspect. Theros expelled Anna from her realm with the help of the South Wind, and she neglected to mention to the mortal girl that the Divine realms could not be found by her kind; without her assistance, Anna would never find Spring's palace, and with Elsa here with her mother, Anna would never find her wife, either. Summer smiled to herself while she watched as Anna was whisked out of sight by her invisible servant and she reassured herself that even if the girl did somehow obtain her box, Anna's natural curiosity would be her misfortune.

Anna landed on a dirt road with deserted golden fields all around her, ready for the harvest. She took her first step forward, thinking of how to begin searching for Spring's realm, but found herself lifted into the air again. Anna's heart lurched with surprise at first, though she resigned herself to the care of the magical wind, trusting that the Divines did not wish her harm.

She was right to trust one Divine in particular. Elsa had sent the North Wind to escort her to and from the Vale of Spring and back to Summer's land after, knowing Anna would easily be able to complete the task herself with this minimal assistance, and hopefully please Theros by returning her possession.

When Anna was lowered to the ground for the second time that day, she could sense she was in a Divine realm this time. There were flowers of all kinds and colours on the green grass at Anna's feet and ahead of her was a forest of tall trees, with blossoms amidst the bright green leaves far above and the golden sunlight shining through them.

Anna knew if she walked through the tall, smooth trunks she would find the Divine palace that she sought. She thought of Elsa's realm and how she longed to return to the cool beauty of the Vale of Winter, her snowman friends, but most of all to the love of Elsa; Anna could feel that she was getting closer to her reunion with every step she took.

She found this place almost as beautiful as Elsa's land, with its sweet-smelling air and pollen from the flowers faintly visible floating in the golden sunbeams. When she saw it through the trees, Anna thought Spring's palace was similar to the palace of Winter, with the way it glinted in the sunlight, though it was not of ice, and appeared to be formed of green glass.

The goddess of Spring had sensed her mortal presence and stood to greet Anna in front of her palace, with the box that her Divine sister had requested she return in her hands.

Anna saw the goddess standing there. She had a mild beauty to her features and pale hair that shimmered faintly green in the light. Spring was clad in pale pink and had wings like a butterfly's, unlike the other Divines of the seasons whom Anna had been privileged to meet.

"O Queen of Spring," Anna said, bowing her head. "I'm here for Summer's box."

Spring did not know Summer's plan and gave the small wooden box to Anna knowing what it contained. She had wondered why Theros wanted it, but said nothing to her servant as she handed it over; she did not wish the mortal girl any harm and would not have given it if she knew her sister's motives.

Anna walked back to the high green hill where she had arrived in this realm and admired the wonderful view of the flower-filled valley while she waited for the wind again, hoping it would return to take her back.

As she watched the bees and butterflies visiting the flowers surrounding her, Anna's mind began to wander towards what the box contained.

Her curiosity was taking hold of her again, the same curiosity that had led Anna to go against Elsa's words, which the summer goddess had known well when she gave the mortal girl this task.

She thought about Theros' orders, forbidding her to look inside, and decided that whatever it was must be important.

Anna had more than a little rebelliousness in her nature. She had also found the goddess' manner tiresome ever since she had met her, so Anna felt like defying her orders and began to lift the lid of the box. It opened easily, despite what Theros had said, but when Anna looked within, it was empty.

It was not empty at all, yet what was inside was invisible to Anna's mortal eyes. The force that the box contained was powerful and mighty, a strong spell of sleeping that immediately took hold of Anna as soon as it was freed.

The Princess sank to the ground in a deep, peaceful sleep in which she would remain for all eternity, exactly as the goddess of summer had planned; Anna would no longer be able to rival Theros' beauty or distract her daughter with her love.

But Theros' daughter was already distracted. Elsa waited in the Vale of Summer to greet Anna when she returned and to waste no more time hiding from the mortal girl, valuable time that should be spent in love.

The winter goddess waited for three days and nights, much longer than Anna should have taken to accept the box from Spring and return to where Elsa now stood.

She suspected something was amiss and returned to the Divines' viewing-place again to see what had happened to the one she loved. When Elsa saw Anna lying on the ground, she panicked and feared that the very worst had come to pass, but as she looked closer, the goddess saw her beloved's soft chest rise and fall with her breath, her racing heart slowed and Elsa flew at once to Spring's realm where Anna lay in her magical sleep.

To Elsa's Divine eyes, the sleeping spell surrounded Anna like a faint grey haze and the first thing she did was secure the magic back inside its box, but Anna did not awaken.

Elsa leaned over her, marvelling at how truly beautiful Anna was. She stroked Anna's soft, freckled cheek and, for the first time, Elsa kissed her lover in the light, where she could see every one of Anna's freckles and ginger eyelashes up close.

Elsa poured all her love into that kiss, and all the regret she felt for both deceiving and abandoning her precious Anna, but most of all, Elsa's kiss contained the joy the goddess felt at being reunited with the one she loved, the only one she had ever and would ever love.

She leaned back to see Anna's face again and stroked her lips with her thumb; they looked just as soft as they felt. Elsa's Divine heart jumped as she watched Anna stir beneath her.

Her eyes opened, revealing their unique colour to Elsa, who studied them for the first time; some moments they seemed green, others blue, but they were always beautiful.

As soon as she saw Elsa above her, Anna's face lit up with a radiant smile and she reached up with both hands to stroke her lover's light-blonde hair, partly to check whether she was real, partly to remind herself of the softness of that hair and to match her memories of its silky texture to its stunning colour.

"Elsa!" Anna said, in a whisper of wonder. "I dreamed of you!"

"And I dreamed of you... for too long," Elsa replied. "I'm so sorry I abandoned you, Anna. I let my mother's threats distract me from loving you when I should have protected you, I should have been honest with you..."

"And I'm sorry I went against your word," Anna said, seeing Elsa's distress and cupping both her pale cheeks in her hands. "But we're together now!"

"And I'm going to make sure it will be for ever," Elsa said, and kissed Anna lightly on the forehead. "Come. I'm taking you to truly become my wife."

She helped Anna to her feet, then lifted her in her strong but slender arms and spread her wings to take to the skies.

Elsa flew towards the realm of the most high, where the Chief of the Divines made his dwelling as he governed the doings of gods and men.

In Elsa's arms, Anna felt happier than she had ever been. She looked at Elsa's beauty, her flawless skin, her flowing blonde hair and her sparkling blue dress. Beneath them was the whole world, spread out below in all its vast beauty, but Anna was only interested in the beauty of Elsa, and kept watching her goddess as she navigated the heavens, occasionally turning her head to bestow on Anna a smile of love and joy, the depth of her emotions visible in her blue eyes while they flew up beyond the clouds.

The two lovers landed in the celestial realm, amid the many halls of the Divines, each one more beautiful than any earthly building Anna had ever seen. There was a mighty bugle-horn nearby, which Elsa blew to call the council of the Divines and present them with the mortal she loved and wished to make her wife.

Then she led Anna to the hugest hall of them all, whiter than the whitest marble, and at the same time more awe-inspiring than the tallest mountain and more delicate than the tiniest snowflake.

Both Anna and Elsa sat together and saw all the Divines gather there. Anna recognised the three other goddesses of the seasons, whom she had already met, but there were other goddesses, and gods, too, all of them beautiful and powerful. Though Anna was not scared, she held Elsa's hand and was given strength and courage by the love they shared.

Finally, the Chief of the Divines himself arrived and Anna felt his presence complete the council, feeling overwhelming love emanating from all.

Elsa stood, leading Anna by the hand, and walked to the centre of the assembly.

The father of gods and men could see their love with a single glance; he knew that Elsa had never loved before and never would again, he knew what she would ask.

Elsa told their story and once she was done, the Chief of the Divines turned towards her mother, Theros. "Do you see the joy Anna brings your daughter?" he asked, his great voice echoing around the hall. "How can you wish the two of them anything but bliss? Do not interfere with their love again."

The goddess of summer understood and would not disobey his command.

The assembly then became a wedding, with each of the Divines there to witness the love between Elsa and Anna. The two were joined in a sacred marriage and Anna was presented with a drinking horn full of Ambrosia by the Chief of the Divines himself, and when she drank from it, she joined Elsa in immortality as well as in love.

What Elsa had promised her beloved came to pass. Anna was her immortal wife and soon bore her Divine child, a daughter named Nytelse, for she came from Anna and Elsa's pleasure, and the three of them lived in beauty and joy until the end of time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Nytelse" is Norwegian for "pleasure" (please correct me if I'm wrong), which is the name of Cupid and Psyche's daughter in the original myth. It also vaguely contains Elsa's name.
> 
> This story ended up so long because the original is quite long, too, and I struggled at times to adapt it. I hope you enjoyed it, nevertheless.


	11. Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was inspired by the myth of Hero and Leander, in case you're not familiar with it.

On two sides of the fjord, in a northern land long ago, two souls dwelt like two stars, each shining as bright with love as her companion. Both had been chosen, determined by destiny, the Fates, and all the powers above, to join together in love. Each dwelt within the beautiful body of a young woman, equal in loveliness, almost equal in age, but not equal in their knowledge of the mysteries and wonders of the power of love; the force that was about to shape their lives forever.

Elsa had studied these mysteries all her life and knew the ways of love better than almost anyone; Elsa had learned of love, but she had never felt the stirrings of it once.

Anna was Elsa's opposite in experience, as she was her opposite in location. She had felt love many times, but Anna had never learned what it is to know True Love with the one your soul has been bound to for all eternity.

The day the two were destined to discover what they had been secretly wishing and seeking for the whole of their young lives was one sacred to the goddess of love and beauty, and her Divine influence had more than a small part to play in bringing Elsa and Anna together.

It was a fine day in early summer, the sky and the fjord rivalled each other with their intense shades of blue, cloudless and still, both deeply beautiful. And the citizens of the small village across the fjord from Arendelle had all turned their attentions to the goddess who brought such beauty into their lives. The land on which their village had been founded was sacred to the goddess of love and contained a shrine where they gathered every year on this day to celebrate the goddess and the wisdom and glory she brought to all with the gifts of beauty and love that she had given to humanity.

That morning, Elsa had walked to the shrine from her home in the tower by the shore where she lived to join the villagers and lead the celebrations. The shrine stood behind the village and was built around a section of coloured stone in the side of the cliff that shimmered with beautiful crystals. Wild roses grew throughout it, adding their deep red beauty to the spectrum of stunning colours that the supernatural place already contained. It was open to the sky and anyone who stepped into the sacred space was overcome by the feeling of holiness all around. Since time immemorial, the shrine had been decorated with statues of the goddess and other works of reverence dedicated to the Lady of Love, all arranged around the silver altar and maintained by Elsa each day since she had been sent to live here, the latest in a long line of priestesses and priests in charge of the shrine.

The sanctuary was currently filled with people, the busiest Elsa had ever seen it in the short time she had tended the sacred space. Faces turned to her when she entered, some Elsa knew from her infrequent visits to the village, others she recognised as priests and priestesses from her own order, visiting to attend this sacred ceremony, along with other pilgrims come to pay their respects to the goddess.

Elsa felt nervousness take hold of her and shake her limbs, but she took a breath to calm herself, stepped up to the altar and raised her clear, melodious voice to begin a hymn to the goddess. Elsa had learned to sing such hymns almost as soon as she could talk, though it was the first time she had led any festival, and since she was now the official priestess of this shrine, Elsa wanted to make her order and her goddess proud.

And Elsa did. The morning sun shone down into the shrine, making the crystals in the cliff glitter, and illuminating Elsa's radiant blonde hair. All were stunned as they joined her in song, thinking there could be no one more perfect to care for this sacred place.

Once the ceremony was over, the festival began. The village was small and quiet, but for this single day of the year, the main street was busy, echoing with voices and music. Along with pilgrims, the festival had attracted traders, musicians and street performers who had made the village their own for the day.

The new sights and sounds and people were exciting for Elsa, but she was somewhat shy, and did not consort with the crowd or take part in the feasting or dancing. She talked mostly to the other visiting priests and priestesses, since Elsa was unused to others outside the order, having lived with them all her life. Elsa told herself she would be more brave next year, once she was fully used to the place and had proven herself to be a dutiful priestess.

But Elsa was unknowingly attracting attention and word soon spread of the beautiful new priestess of the shrine, who had been so reclusive until now. She smiled politely when curious people came to her and blessed them when they asked, as was her duty, yet Elsa was stressed inside; she was not used to so many voices or so many people wanting to touch her. Though she kept calm; if she listened closely, Elsa could hear the sound of the sea behind everything else which reminded her of her home in the tower, the peacefulness of her books and studies that she could return to soon.

Despite the change in her routine, Elsa had enjoyed the experience of her first festival and felt her mood grow a little melancholy as the sky grew orange and the sun began to set. This meant that the celebration was over, the people started to trickle away and the traders dismantled their stalls to return to their homes in the nearby towns and cities.

It had been a busy day for Anna, too. She came to the festival every year from Arendelle to sell her family's ale and wine, and Anna loved the beautiful little village that was so different from the grey stone streets of the city. But this year was the first time she had come without her parents. Now she was almost nineteen, they had decided Anna was old enough to manage the stall herself, and she and her friend Kristoff had made a good profit; the village had no tavern of its own, so they always attracted a swarm of customers every year.

This year had been no different. There were only a few barrels left over when Anna and Kristoff began to pack up the stall into their wagon. But halfway through the process, Anna remembered another important thing she did here every year.

"I'm going to visit the shrine. I almost forgot!" Anna said when her friend asked why she was leaving.

"Oh. Of course," Kristoff replied. "I can finish up here." He worked at the tavern, too, and also came to the festival every year, so he knew what had to be done. Kristoff never bothered to visit the shrine, though; he considered himself something of a love expert already, even if his charms had failed to work on Anna.

She entered the familiar stillness of the shrine and smelled the cool scent of the stone, saw the shining silver of the altar. Anna loved this place; it was so  _natural_  and Anna felt closer to the goddess here than she did at the temple of the Divines in Arendelle. She knelt before the largest statue and lit a candle. Anna bowed her head in silent prayer, enjoying a few final moments of peace in this sacred place before she had to return to her normal life for another year.

Elsa stood beneath an oak tree, waiting until all the festival-goers had left so she could perform the evening rites at the shrine. The last one to leave was a young, red-haired woman; Elsa had seen so many people that day, but a feeling struck her when she looked at this particular girl. The priestess did not recognise the feeling, it was like a tugging in her chest and she couldn't make her eyes leave the redhead, even though she tried. Elsa watched the way her hips swayed beneath her dress and how her twin braids bobbed with each movement she made, finding this stranger the most pleasing sight she had seen in all her life.

Anna got the feeling that someone was watching her and obeyed the urge to look up, and when she did she found that her intuition had not lied, someone  _was_  watching her, someone with eyes more blue than any Anna had ever seen. And the face they belonged to possessed a loveliness of the kind that Anna had only glimpsed in paintings and statues that adorned temples and shrines like the one she had just left.

The woman had white-gold hair bound in a long braid, the lightest shade of blonde that Anna had ever beheld, and her beauty brought a smile to Anna's lips. The blonde smiled shyly in return, blushing and glancing down before meeting Anna's gaze again; an unspoken invitation to come closer.

Both knew at that moment that the woman they each saw before them was going to change their lives forever. They did not admit in their minds that it was love, but love it was indeed, since who ever loved that loved not at first sight?

Anna began to walk towards her, needing to close the distance between them now that their eyes had exchanged such intimacies that words could not convey. The redhead spent every day conversing with complete strangers, yet she felt nervousness twist within her and hoped that her rambling tongue would not make her regret her words before she summoned the courage to speak to the blonde.

"I've never seen you here before," Anna said, her heart pounding as the words left her mouth. "I would have noticed." She almost regretted the last few words, thinking she was being too forward, but the blonde didn't seem to mind and in the brief pause before she replied, Anna took in the full glory of her beauty now they stood facing each other.

She was truly beautiful, with that pale quality Anna admired the most because she did not have it herself, with her freckles and her tendency to blush easily; Anna both envied and desired this woman's good looks.

But it was not just her body that was beautiful, the clothes she wore enhanced her natural grace and complemented her in every way. She was clad in a loose blue dress with a belt around her elegant waist. The large pearl on a silver chain around her pure white neck marked her as a priestess of the goddess whose shrine this was, and the shawl draped over her slender shoulders was exquisite; green gauze with a design of pink flowers so vivid Anna thought for a moment that they were real blossoms woven into the fabric.

Though Anna decided the adornments that she naturally possessed surpassed even those. Her sapphirine eyes reminded Anna of cloudless skies, and her hair shone like both silver and gold in the day's fading light; her delicate fingers stroked the end of her braid while she responded to Anna.

"I'm the new priestess at this shrine," Elsa said, simply, thinking correctly that the other girl was definitely going to continue a conversation with her, despite Elsa's brief reply.

"I'm Anna, from Arendelle across the fjord."

Elsa thought the name suited her; there was something about it conveying positivity, happiness... "My name's Elsa," she said. "I live in that tower by the shore."

Anna's gaze followed where she pointed, which was towards a stone tower in the distance, outside the village, but not too far away. "So  _you're_  Elsa," she said, once she had turned her eyes back to meet those deep blue ones again. "Everyone was talking about you in the village today," Anna commented. "You have a beautiful name, it's as beautiful as you! Are you sure you're just a priestess and not the goddess herself?" She definitely regretted saying  _that_ ; Anna hadn't even drunk any ale today, yet she couldn't stop herself, and she knew what she had said was probably the wrong thing to say to a priestess. But luckily Elsa did not seem to mind and laughed shyly, her soft voice stirring a spark of desire in Anna, and her blush inflaming it even more.

"I assure you, I'm just a priestess," Elsa said. "But thank you. You're beautiful, too, Anna." Elsa had never told anyone that before, since this was the first time she had met someone to whom those words truly applied. Whenever she looked at Anna she saw a new facet of her beauty. Elsa noticed the colour of her eyes for the first time: too green to be blue, too blue to be green... Pure perfection... Anna's eyes reminded her of the ocean, which Elsa loved especially because her goddess had been born from the waves, and just as the Divine bringer of love had emerged from those aquamarine depths, Elsa's love for Anna was rapidly growing each time she gazed into the depths of Anna's uniquely-coloured eyes.

"Thanks!" Anna felt her own cheeks burn bright with the compliment. "But you're beautifuller!" Elsa giggled in reaction to Anna's made-up word, yet she did not correct her or tease her like Kristoff would have done.

"Everything about you," Anna continued. "Your hair, your clothes... Those flowers look real!" Anna almost reached out to touch the fabric, but remembered that Elsa was a priestess and she didn't have permission to touch her, so Anna contented herself with asking a question instead. "Where did you get it?"

"I made it myself!" Elsa said, beaming with pride that Anna liked her work.

"That's amazing! I've never seen anything like it before!"

Elsa paused for a moment before following an instinct, she took off her shawl, folded it in her hands and held it out to Anna. "You can have it," she said. Spreading love and beauty was part of Elsa's duty as a priestess, and she knew that, sadly, it was unlikely the two of them would ever meet again, yet she felt she wanted Anna to remember her, wanted a part of herself in Anna's life.

"What? No, I can't accept that!" Anna protested, her eyes wide with wonder at Elsa's generosity.

"Please," she said, still offering it. "I want you to have it. I can make another for myself anytime."

Anna thought it through; she wanted the shawl, it would add a bit of beauty to her otherwise dull life, but she couldn't leave Elsa with nothing. The redhead bit her lip before she decided what to do. "Let me give you something in return! Wait here, don't move, I'll be back in a moment!"

Elsa smiled after her as she left, and waited, stroking the shawl in her hands, thinking that the next fingers to caress the fabric would be Anna's.

Anna came back a couple of minutes later carrying a small barrel at her chest, her arms encircling the wood in a way that made Elsa wonder what her embrace felt like. She placed the barrel at Elsa's feet.

"For you!" Anna declared, standing upright again. "In exchange for your shawl. My mother and I made this wine together and it's pretty good, if I do say so myself. So we're even!"

"Thank you," Elsa said as Anna took the garment from her.

"And thank you, Elsa." Anna smiled and took hold of her hand before she could stop herself, since it was an action Anna somehow felt she'd done thousands of times before.

The need for contact between them was innate, an instinct drawing them together. Elsa felt the power and her hand trembled at Anna's brief touch; when she let go, Elsa could feel the warmth of her skin lingering on her palm.

"I- I should stop distracting you from your duties," Anna said, the sensation of their contact awakening countless feelings in her, making the redhead aware of her own natural awkwardness compared to Elsa's grace. "The other priestesses are probably missing you in the tower," she added, to fill the silence.

"Actually, I live there alone," Elsa said. She didn't know why she felt the need to inform Anna of this fact, but she knew she was not ready to say goodbye just yet. Elsa had never enjoyed simply talking to another person so much before, let alone one she had known for mere minutes. Deep down, her soul was seeking for anything that would strengthen their new connection. "There are no other priestesses in the village, just me."

"That sounds like the opposite of my home!" said Anna, happy that Elsa wanted to keep talking to her, but Anna knew she had left Kristoff waiting and could not prolong their conversation for much longer. "I live above my parents' tavern so there's never a moment's peace. It must be nice and quiet for you, living there."

"Yes, it's peaceful," Elsa said, glad once again that she had not been sent to live in a city temple. "Some days I never see another person at all, between there and the shrine."

Anna's fingers toyed with the shawl she was holding. She saw a chance to keep Elsa in her life and decided to risk taking it. "Do you ever get lonely?" she asked.

"I do... Sometimes..." Elsa looked down at her hands and had never realised until that moment that she had been lonely all her life, before she had seen Anna's eyes and her smile. The realisation made her shiver, or maybe it was the cold night air since the sun had set now and Elsa no longer had her shawl, but she did not care; Elsa thought the garment suited Anna better, it brought out the green in her eyes.

"If you like, I could come and visit you." Anna hoped she would say yes, she knew that nobody wants to be alone and nobody should have to be, especially someone as beautiful and kind as Elsa, yet Anna kept her reasons to herself, not wanting to scare the fair priestess away with her passion.

"I'd like that very much, Anna," she said, giving her a stunning smile in return for her offer, showing that Elsa genuinely meant her words.

A matching smile formed on Anna's own lips. "Great! I'll visit you tomorrow night, after sunset," she said, beginning to form a plan of how she would reach Elsa's tower from her home in Arendelle. "Light a torch from your tower so I can find the way."

"I will!" Elsa agreed, feeling excitement stir already, since the few rare visitors she had were fellow priestesses or an old woman from the village who brought her supplies; she knew already that Anna would be able to give her a new sort of company that she had never known before.

"Goodbye, then, Elsa," she said, giving her a lopsided grin before reluctantly turning away.

"Goodbye, Anna!" Elsa called after her, and waved to the redhead when she looked back a moment later.

Anna left her there and raised her own hand in return before she continued down the hill to where Kristoff and the cart were waiting to take her home.

She wrapped the shawl around herself, noting the scent of the other woman was still on it, as sweet as the blossoms that were depicted on the fabric. Anna desperately wanted to see her again, to know everything about her. Anna could not say why, she had met so many people already in her young life, but there was something about Elsa...

Anna was glad beyond words that she had permission to visit, though she knew she would have to somehow obtain a boat before tomorrow night. She made sure to memorise the landmarks carefully before she left. The shore by Elsa's tower didn't seem too steep, Anna could see a pathway up to the top cut into the rocks; with the light from Arendelle's lighthouse, and if Elsa lit a light of her own it should be easy for her to find the way.

Both Kristoff and Sven the carthorse looked bored when Anna arrived.

"You took your time," Kristoff said from the driver's seat.

"I was busy," Anna replied briefly, climbing into the seat beside him.

"Where'd you get that shawl?" he asked, eyeing the expensive-looking fabric, much richer than the dull roughspun they were both wearing.

"That's none of your business," she said and stuck out her tongue. Anna wanted to keep Elsa a secret for now, since she still did not know where it would lead. "Let's go home."

"Fine by me," he said, shaking the reins to get Sven moving. "But we probably won't reach Arendelle until dawn, thanks to you, so you can take over driving when we get halfway."

"Yeah, sure," Anna agreed, before she curled up in her seat and covered herself with the shawl, which surrounded her in Elsa's scent. Anna wondered if embracing her would be similar... She wondered what she would be doing this time tomorrow night and let those thoughts carry her into a brief sleep on the journey home.

Elsa took the wine barrel to the shrine where she opened it and poured a libation, giving the first taste of her gift to the goddess in her gratitude. The candlelight shone on the shrine, making the silver altar shine and the wine look dark against it. Elsa felt close to her goddess and knew she was listening.

In her prayer, Elsa thanked the Divine bringer of love and beauty for the events of the day, and especially for her encounter with Anna. Elsa hoped she had made a friend, and the prospect of that stirred excitement within her, since she had never really known anyone who wasn't a priest or priestess before.

She could not wait for Anna's visit tomorrow, and for the rest of the night Elsa's mind often travelled over the fjord to the lights of the city on the horizon and the beautiful red-haired girl who dwelt there.

Anna awoke as usual in the afternoon when her parents opened the tavern and needed her help serving the customers and keeping the place clean. She went about her usual routine, but Anna found her feelings distracted her; she somehow felt she was wasting her time with the trivial tasks she had been doing every day in the tavern since she was a child. Now Anna knew that someone as amazing as Elsa existed in this world, and just across the fjord, she felt she was missing out on discovering all there was to know about the beautiful priestess, missing out on simply being with her. The day went slowly for Anna.

Over the fjord, Elsa passed the day with her priestess duties, losing herself in contemplation of love's mysteries until the sun had set, when her mind turned again to the mysteries of her own feelings, and the arrangement she had made with Anna yesterday.

Elsa climbed to the roof of her tower when the last red traces of the day were retreating to the west, and looked out towards the lights of the city in the distance. Hoping she was not doing this for nothing, Elsa set fire to the torch she had brought with her and held it high above her head.

She stood there while the stars came out and the moon began to rise in the ink-black sky, thinking of Anna, sensing that she was out there, thinking of Elsa, too.

A cold night breeze blew in off the sea and made the flame flicker, but Elsa sheltered it with her hand and kept it alight. Together burned the torch and her desire as Elsa remained looking out at the night, waiting.

Most people in Arendelle, save Anna, turned to their beds and to sleep when the sun went down. After her parents had closed the tavern and retired for the night, she silently crept out of the door and walked down to the docks to view the other side of the fjord.

Anna scanned the horizon yet saw only the darkness of the cliffs, dimly lit by Arendelle's lighthouse. But then she looked again and perceived a faint light, sometimes flickering, though shining brighter as she stared at it.

Elsa had remembered, and her heart thudded with the realisation, since Anna had almost doubted that she would. The redhead calmed her racing thoughts and considered that she had not actually planned this far. Now she had to find a way to reach the beautiful blonde priestess who was waiting for her across the water.

Anna couldn't afford to hire a boat, since she had no money of her own and did not know whether her parents would agree to let her travel to see a woman she had only met yesterday. And there was the fact that there would be no boats sailing that way this late... But even if she took a swift horse and followed the road around the fjord she wouldn't arrive there until sunrise... And she couldn't keep Elsa waiting.

There was only one thing to do: Anna would have to swim across the fjord. Swimming was the fastest way, and it was not exactly a long distance; Anna could see her destination and the light glowing there.

Now she knew what she had to do, Anna quietly returned to her room and changed her clothes as quickly as she could. She put on a blouse and a pair of breeches that would weigh her down less than a dress and left her shoes behind before stepping out again into the night, barefoot and full of excitement.

Elsa's light was still burning on the opposite shore when Anna reached the docks again, so she walked right up to the edge of the wooden pier, held her breath and dived into the dark water.

The fjord was cold, but love warmed Anna's heart. The water was calm and Anna was a strong swimmer, so soon she was gliding through the water smoothly and swiftly. She saw the light from the tower, getting closer with each stroke, like Anna's own star guiding her to her destination.

Around halfway, she paused to catch her breath, treading water and feeling conscious of the depth of the fjord beneath her. She questioned what she was doing in the middle of the fjord at night, swimming to see a woman she didn't really know... But Anna wanted to know her, wanted to know her more than anything, for reasons beyond her knowledge. What she did know was that Elsa was waiting for her, and it was too late to turn back, even if she wanted to, so she kept swimming.

Anna saw the land manifest clearly ahead of her, saw the way up to the tower that she had noticed yesterday, and quickened her pace now she knew Elsa was close. Shaking with both coldness and excitement, Anna left the water and climbed up the stone steps, taking care not to slip, but going as quickly as she could.

At the top of her tower, Elsa's arms were getting tired. She had seen no sign of Anna, though the night sky was beautiful, the stars shone brightly and Elsa was gazing at them when she heard five loud knocks on the door down below.

She dropped the torch in her haste to let Anna in and see her again, causing the fire to go out, but the fire in Elsa's heart burned stronger as it recognised that her soulmate was near.

Elsa rushed down the spiral steps and opened the door to see Anna's smiling face.

"Elsa!" she said, happily, unable to say much else for the moment, since she was stunned by how beautiful Elsa was, more beautiful than she remembered.

"Anna!" Elsa said in reply, her own face lighting up at the sight of her. "Come in!" She held the door open for her, noticing that Anna was barefoot, shivering and completely drenched, dripping water onto the floor. "You're soaking wet! What happened to you?" Elsa asked after she had closed the door.

"I just swam across the fjord," she replied.

Elsa's blue eyes widened. "You swam?"

"Yep!" Anna grinned with pride and adrenaline from her exercise.

Elsa pushed her questions aside and put Anna's wellbeing to the forefront of her mind. "Come on, let's get you dry before you catch a chill," she said and guided her up the stairs to her home.

Anna acknowledged that she had not thought this through at all. She hadn't meant to make Elsa concerned by arriving at her door completely wet from the fjord, but she loved the blonde's attention; her hand was on Anna's shoulder as they climbed and her eyes were full of concern.

"You don't have to worry, Elsa. I'm fine," Anna assured her, yet let herself be led up the stairs, though the large main room of Elsa's tower and into a side room that revealed itself to be Elsa's bedroom.

Anna looked around, shivering, with her arms wrapped around herself, while Elsa rummaged in a clothes chest.

"Here," Elsa said a few moments later and handed Anna a towel and a neatly-folded dress. "Dry yourself and put this on. I'll wait for you in the kitchen." She gave Anna a small smile before leaving and closing the door behind her.

While she lit the fire in her kitchen, it occurred to Elsa that there was a stranger in her house and she should be worried, yet she felt no such emotions, since the stranger was Anna. All Elsa felt was the need to look after her, to keep her warm. She fed the fire until it was blazing, then waited for Anna to appear, wondering what they were going to do when she did.

Anna was alone in Elsa's room, surrounded by Elsa's scent, the same as she had smelled on the shawl, but stronger and sweeter here. She could hear the sound of the sea in the distance but apart from that it was silent; Anna thought this must be a nice place to sleep, especially since Elsa's bed was much larger than her own and looked much softer, too.

Once she was dry, Anna put on the dress Elsa had given her. It was a little long and trailed on the floor, and it was slightly too loose around her chest, though the fabric was soft and Anna was thrilled to actually be wearing Elsa's clothes; she felt so close to Elsa already, but now she knew it was time to get to know her properly.

Anna wandered out of the bedroom and through the main room to the kitchen on the other side, carrying her wet clothes and not stopping to explore, since she saw Elsa ahead of her. She turned from the fire when Anna approached.

"Thanks for lending me your dress," Anna said. "I didn't realise how wet I got, I dripped water all over your house!"

"Don't worry about it," Elsa said kindly and took Anna's clothes from her before placing a hand on her lower back to guide her. "Please, go and stand by the fire."

Anna did so and held her hands out to warm them while Elsa wrung her wet clothes out of a nearby window, then laid them to dry in front of the fire.

"Thanks for letting me visit you," Anna said to break the silence. "You have a beautiful home."

"Thank you," Elsa replied, with a smile, before seeing the chance to ask one of the questions that she had thought of while she waited. "Why did you swim? It's a very... unusual way to travel here."

"Well, I don't own a boat," Anna began. "And going around the fjord would take too long." She then told Elsa about her daily life, working in her family's tavern from the afternoon until nightfall, then sleeping during the day before starting the whole routine again.

"Sorry!" Anna said once she had finished. "I'm used to talking so much... You probably don't want to hear about my dull life."

"It's not dull at all!" said Elsa. "I want to hear everything about you, Anna. But wait just a moment."

Elsa left her and went to the corner of the room, returning a moment later carrying two wineglasses filled with deep red liquid.

"I know it was your gift," she said. "But I can't drink it all myself, I need your help!"

"If you insist," Anna replied, with a playful glint in her eyes. She took a glass from Elsa and raised it in a toast. "Let's drink to us and to the start of a new friendship!"

They clinked their glasses together and shared a fond glance before sitting on the floor in front of the fire, the heat of the flames warming them from without, and the wine and their burgeoning love from within.

Anna's wine was sweet and like liquid velvet on Elsa's tongue. She was content in wordless companionship, but equally content when Anna began to speak again.

"Tell me about your life, Elsa," she said. "I've never really met a priestess before, except in the temple. What brought you to this beautiful tower? What do you do here?"

"There's not much to tell," Elsa replied. "I was raised by priestesses since I was a baby, no one knows who my parents were. They found me in the temple one winter's night."

"Maybe you're the daughter of the goddess herself!" Anna suggested, suddenly. "You're beautiful enough." Made bold by the wine, she took one of Elsa's elegant, pale hands in her own; Elsa did not flinch, so Anna didn't let go.

Elsa looked down shyly at their joined hands. She had never let anyone hold her hand like this. She had heard such words said to her before, yet they had never meant anything or made her heart beat so quickly. Elsa had never let anyone into her life like this, had never wanted to; others hadn't felt right, others hadn't been Anna.

"Thank you, Anna," she said, softly. "But if you think I'm beautiful, you should see yourself."

Anna's eyes looked green in the warm orange glow of the fire. Her red hair was drying and returning to its natural light colour, as bright as the flames. The pale blue dress she wore was loose and hung down a little, exposing her freckled cleavage. Elsa had never seen anyone who looked as beautiful as Anna did at that moment.

The redhead blushed and giggled at her sweet words; she had also heard such things before, but coming from Elsa they felt true, and that truth left her temporarily speechless.

"I mean it," Elsa continued when she didn't reply, and squeezed Anna's hand. "I've studied the lore of love and beauty all my life, I know true beauty when I see it and you are beautiful, Anna."

Elsa was looking at her with such intensity in her eyes that the only things Anna was conscious of were those deep blue orbs and the loud beating of her heart. "Elsa..."

Elsa felt unfamiliar sensations stir within her and looked away. "You asked what I do here, so I'll show you!" She smiled and pulled Anna to her feet, still holding her hand, and led her to the other room.

"When I came of age in December, I was sent to live here," Elsa explained. "The last priestess who lived here moved to the city and she left all these scrolls and books of lore." She showed Anna shelves full of documents, from floor to ceiling. "They're the goddess' teachings; I'm studying them," she added.

"Woah, there are more books here than I've ever seen in my life!" Anna exclaimed, and traced her fingertips over the covers closest to her. "Have you read all of them?"

"Not even half! I try to read as much as I can, but I have to tend the shrine, too. And when I'm not doing either of those things, I spend most of my time here." Elsa brought Anna to a loom on which there was a beautiful banner that she was in the middle of weaving.

"It's the goddess," Anna said, recognising the familiar scene depicted on the fabric.

"Being born from the sea," Elsa finished for her.

"It's amazing, Elsa!" she commented. "Is this where you made the shawl?"

"It is. And the dress you're wearing," Elsa said, proud of the beautiful things she had created.

Anna remained in awed silence for a few moments now she knew Elsa had woven the fabric she wore. She felt like she was surrounded by Elsa's touch; the fingers that held her hand had touched every thread of the dress that currently caressed her body.

The sensation Anna felt was intense, she was in awe of the amazing and beautiful woman who stood before her, almost otherworldly in her skills and grace. Anna thought herself unworthy for a moment, though she was in fact the only person worthy of Elsa in this entire world, and would come to learn it soon enough.

"Maybe I should go," Anna said. "You have so many things to do! I'm wasting your time, you should be sleeping instead of talking to me."

"No, Anna, I have plenty of time; you're not wasting it!" Elsa assured her. "I like having you here. But if you want to leave, I won't stop you."

Anna could feel Elsa needed her, she could see it in her eyes, and the emotions in them gave Anna the confidence to follow her matching wishes. "Of course I don't want to leave," she said, and lightly touched Elsa's shoulder, her touch and her words bringing a smile to Elsa's lips as if the sun had risen already.

And so Anna stayed. The two young women talked through the night and ate sweet cakes made by Elsa's own fair hands, the best that Anna had ever tasted.

Their wineglasses were empty, the fire had burned low, but their cheeks were flushed and their smiles bright.

By the time the dawn light appeared in the eastern sky, Anna knew she really had to leave.

"Can I come again tomorrow night?" Anna asked before she left the tower.

"Of course!" Elsa gladly replied. "But please be careful if you swim again, I'll worry about you."

"I'll be fine," Anna said, placing her hand over the one Elsa had rested on her shoulder. "It's not far from Arendelle, and these summer nights are warm!"

Indeed they were, and they soon grew warmer. Summer waxed, and Anna and Elsa's friendship waxed with it. The spark that had been kindled at their meeting soon flourished fully into the flame of love, and the confusion of feelings that accompanies it.

Every night, Elsa would light a torch at the top of the tower to guide Anna's way. Each night, she protected it from the wind and made sure it stayed alight, and soon her arms no longer began to ache as she held the light up high, strengthened by both practice and love.

Every night, Anna would swim to her, the distance across the fjord seeming shorter each time.

Neither ever tired during their duties of the day. Though they both slept less, they slept deeper and joined each other in their dreams. Anna wrapped herself in the shawl whenever she lay in her bed, the thin fabric the only covering she needed on the warm summer mornings when she slept, Elsa's scent bringing pleasant memories.

Both grew happier in their work. Anna found that she no longer felt boredom in her daily routine; the bliss that came from her nightly visits to Elsa lasted throughout the day.

Elsa brought her not only bliss, but also a stronger sense of faith. Anna began to visit the temple on the day of the week that bore the goddess' name, wearing the shawl when she did so. When she knelt before the shrine in the silent, pious atmosphere, Anna felt closer to Elsa, closer to the Divines and to the true joy she had been unwittingly seeking her whole life.

From her tower, in her quiet study of the goddess' teachings, Elsa would listen to the sound of the fjord and look out of her window to Arendelle across the water, thinking that Anna was somewhere within the grey stone shadow of the city she could see.

She thanked the goddess for guiding Anna into her life. Elsa had never been so happy and never before had the goddess' lore seemed so real and relevant. She understood the teachings truly for the first time; Elsa knew she was falling in love with Anna.

Everything about her made Elsa's heart race and her head fill with thoughts of love; Anna's beauty and her colour, her freckles and her red hair, so vivid and full of life, every gesture she made conveying the joy inside her and bringing joy to Elsa.

With her joy on each visit to Elsa, Anna brought tales of her life, of the tavern and the city and all the people she had met that entertained them both for hours. Elsa didn't have much to tell, but she had a lot to show, and the two of them spent some evenings at the loom, Elsa teaching Anna how to weave, or simply letting Anna watch her work.

As they became even closer, Anna and Elsa found they did not always need to talk and they sometimes sat on the roof in the warm air of the summer night, simply gazing at the stars.

It was on a night like this a little less than a month later, when Elsa and Anna shared their first kiss.

Summer had reached its apex, the days becoming as hot and as long as they would be this year. It was Midsummer, and also Anna's birthday.

She and Elsa were sitting together on the roof and had just finished drinking the last of the wine Anna had given Elsa as a gift when they first met.

They had learned almost everything about each other, but Elsa did not know it was Anna's birthday.

"I almost couldn't come tonight," Anna said, her voice breaking the silence of the night, the only other sound the lapping of the water in the distance. "I had to pretend to be ill so my parents would leave me alone and I could sneak out!"

"Why?" Elsa asked, wishing - not for the first time - that she and Anna did not lead such separate lives during the day.

"They wanted to hold a party," she explained. "It's my birthday today."

"Anna, you should have said something sooner! Happy birthday!" Elsa squeezed her hand and looked fondly into Anna's greenish-blue eyes. "You should have stayed, I could have spent one night alone if you were busy having fun with your family."

"No, I didn't want you to stress yourself. I prefer it here with you! My family are great and everything, but they're not you, Elsa," Anna said, leaning lightly against her shoulder. "And my family's parties aren't exactly fun, they're the same every year. I've seen eighteen of them, and this year I don't want all my friends and family, I only want you."

"But you should have told me. I'd have got you a present! Is there anything you'd like?" she asked, willing to give whatever Anna wanted.

Anna looked into Elsa's beautiful eyes and could see something in their blue depths, something that made Anna think she wouldn't refuse. "There is one thing..." Anna's eyes traced Elsa's face, the faint freckles across her perfect nose, her lips, naturally a shade of deep red and so inviting... Anna watched them while she spoke.

"What is it?"

Anna leaned closer, lifted her eyes up to Elsa's and lifted her hand to gently brush aside that adorable little strand of blonde hair that always fell from Elsa's braid onto her forehead. Then she cupped her cheek and slowly joined their mouths together in Elsa's very first kiss.

Elsa's lips were yielding and hesitant against her own, the softest touch Anna had ever felt, and they tasted sweet.

Elsa had not expected it to happen, but kissing Anna was the single most beautiful experience of her life so far; Anna's kiss was warm and tender, not insistent, and she soon pulled away.

The blonde felt a fervent blush heat her face and couldn't stop her freshly-kissed lips from smiling as Anna took her hand that was resting on her lap and lifted it to place another kiss on the soft white skin.

Once Anna had released her hand, Elsa caressed her face, brushing the redhead's freckles with her thumb and looking deep into her eyes.

"I love you," Elsa murmured.

Anna hadn't expected that to happen, but her heart soared when she heard Elsa say those words, though she suddenly feared it was too good to be true.

"Are you sure?" Anna asked. "We haven't known each other for long..." But even so, Anna was in no doubt that her own feelings were love.

"Anna, I've studied the ways of love my whole life," Elsa replied, still stroking her cheek. "And only now, when I'm with you, do I know what they really mean."

"But how do you know?" Anna asked, partly for reassurance, partly because Anna wanted to hear this beautiful woman say how she made her feel.

"I feel it here." Elsa removed her hand from Anna's face and pointed to her heart. "Whenever I look at you. And I think about you all the time; I want to spend every moment of my life with you, Anna, and I've never felt like that about anyone before."

Anna was speechless for a moment, in awe of the woman sitting next to her. To be loved by a priestess of the goddess of love... especially one so beautiful and kind, was truly an honour... And especially because it meant they both felt the same.

Anna felt what Elsa had just described, felt it within her chest as she looked into Elsa's eyes. "I love you, too!"

Elsa smiled. "I know. I have known since you first visited me."

"How?" Anna asked, smiling back at her.

"Love is putting someone else's needs before yours, and you swim across the fjord every night to see me when you could be sleeping or having fun after a day of working. But you sacrifice your time for me, and that's love, Anna," Elsa said, and laced the fingers of both their hands together.

"I've never thought about it like that, but you're right," Anna replied. "And I've loved you since the moment we met."

Elsa and Anna's hands and hearts were united, and their lips united again, softer and sweeter the second time. It was the best birthday present Anna had ever received.

But their newly-acknowledged love made it more difficult to part that morning. Yet absence makes the heart grow fonder, and Anna and Elsa's love soon progressed.

It had rained all day and did not stop when the sky darkened. The night was hot and humid, and the rain heavy and unceasing.

Instead of the torch, Elsa lit all the lamps she owned and placed them on the roof of her tower, but after she dried herself and sat waiting inside, Elsa had second thoughts about what she had done. Now she had given Anna the signal to visit her it meant that the one she loved would brave the weather and risk her own well-being to come across the fjord.

Worried thoughts filled Elsa's mind more than they usually did, as the rain lashed against the window and part of her hoped that Anna wouldn't come tonight, would stay safe and dry in her own home instead. But still she waited, trying to lose herself in a book, and still she worried.

When she heard the familiar, beloved knock on the door, Elsa discarded her book, dashed down the steps and pulled the door open to see Anna wetter than she had ever been before, water cascading off her braids and her clothes, pooling onto the floor at her feet.

"Anna!" Elsa exclaimed, placing an arm on her soaked sleeve to guide her inside. "Are you all right? You look terrible! You should have stayed at home... Even though I lit the light."

"I'm fine," Anna assured her. "The rain's heavy but the fjord was calm." She closed the door behind her to keep the rain out. "And water can't stop me from seeing you!"

Anna wrapped her wet arms around Elsa's waist in their first embrace, comforted by her warmth and softness. She snuggled against her when Elsa held her close, and Anna's hands moved lower, as if by their own volition, until they were cupping her perfect behind. They stayed like that for a couple of moments, forgetting everything else in the world except the touch of the one they loved, before Anna realised where she had put her hands, and remembered that she was still covered in water. "Sorry!" she said, and backed away.

"Don't apologise. Your hands are warm." Elsa took them in her own. "I like it when you touch me."

She kissed Anna's hands before the redhead softly stroked her face and lips with her fingertips. Elsa leaned in to kiss her, showing all her love, gladness and gratitude in that touch of her lips until Anna pulled back.

"I got you wet," Anna said, awkwardly. She glanced down briefly to see that the front of Elsa's white dress was wet and clinging to her. Anna could see her breasts and stiff pink nipples clearly under the, now transparent, cloth.

"Oh!" Elsa covered herself with her arms and blushed, but smiled at Anna when their eyes met. "It doesn't matter. Come on," she said, and led the way upstairs.

Elsa fed the fire, which began to burn brighter now that the rain had lessened a little, and she stood in front of it while waiting for Anna to finish drying and dressing herself. Yet the flames were still not hot enough for Elsa's own dress to dry, she knew she would have to change her own clothes, too.

She saw that her bedroom door was open, so Elsa guessed that Anna had done and stepped inside, though the sight that greeted her was one Elsa had not been expecting.

Anna was standing in her room, not dressed at all but completely naked. Her back was turned, Anna had not noticed Elsa was there, unknowingly showing her the full glory of her unclothed beauty.

And Elsa was stunned. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Anna's freckled, sun-kissed skin, still wet while she dried herself. Elsa had seen Anna's figure displayed by the breeches she wore each night that would cling to her curves when they were wet, but even they had managed to disguise how sensual Anna's form truly was. Elsa noticed she had dimples on her lower back, like the statues of the goddess...

She suddenly realised what she was doing, staring secretly at Anna while she was doing something private, and Elsa was surprised she had not been caught yet, so she began to back away slowly... Until she bumped into the door.

"Elsa?" Anna turned around, giving Elsa a perfect view of her pert round breasts and the coppery hair between her thighs.

"You can come in, you don't have to be shy," Anna said. She had been waiting for this sort of moment to happen and hoped it was a chance to deepen their relationship. Though Anna wasn't going to force anything, since she could tell that Elsa was nervous.

"I, uh, I just wanted to get something," the blonde said. "But I'll come back when you're ready."

Anna could see Elsa was trying to look anywhere but at her, even though she hadn't moved, and still stole brief glances at Anna's breasts and crotch.

"What's the matter, have you never seen anyone naked before?" Anna asked, smiling at her.

"No..." Elsa found her power of speech was disappearing as her embarrassment and arousal increased.

Anna put the dress on to make things less awkward for Elsa, but decided to maintain the awkwardness in another way by asking something she had always wondered about the blonde priestess, and was more curious about after hearing the answer to her last question. "Have you never made love with anyone?"

"I haven't..."

"Have you never even touched yourself?"

Elsa shook her head.

"But it's not forbidden," Anna continued. "Everyone says that the followers of the goddess know everything there is to know about love, in theory  _and_  practice."

Elsa knew she should not be embarrassed about this, yet she was. But Anna was so open, she found herself relaxing a little. "The teachings encourage us to practise," Elsa explained. "When I was a novice at the temple, all the others took lovers, but I never wanted to. I never felt anything like that, before..."

"Before?" Anna came closer, since Elsa wouldn't meet her gaze; she was toying with the pearl on her silver chain necklace.

"Before I met you," she finished. Elsa had been dreaming of Anna almost every night recently, and had woken with heat throbbing in between her legs. She knew what it meant, even though it was the first time she had really felt it.

Anna smiled gently when Elsa raised her eyes. "Do you want to make love with me?" Anna asked, taking the other woman into her arms. "Because I want to make love with you, Elsa," she whispered, before kissing the soft skin of her neck. "Very much."

Talking about this with Anna made her feel warm and conscious of herself, conscious of Anna and their bodies pressing together as she held her.

"I do... But not now." Elsa backed out of their embrace, yet her fingers lingered on Anna's waist.

"Why not?"

"I think I should pray first," Elsa replied. She had always been nervous of change, and she knew that she could not get her virginity back once it was gone...

"Well, it's between you and the goddess," Anna said, knowing how seriously Elsa took her duties as a priestess. "And me, too, technically," she added. "But we don't have to do anything if you don't want to."

Elsa smiled. "Thanks, Anna. It doesn't mean I love you any less!" she said, and quickly kissed her on the lips.

Anna left her alone to change and spread her own wet clothes in front of the fire. She added more wood until the flames were burning brightly and sat down to warm herself.

Elsa soon joined her, wearing a new dark blue dress, and sat down beside Anna, like they had done on their first night together.

"You know," Anna said as they watched the fire, and was trying her best not to seem persuasive. "I think the goddess would want you to follow her laws and practise her rites; only the priestesses for the goddess of wisdom have to stay celibate, so you're going against your goddess' teachings, she might not want a virgin to worship her. But I don't know, I'm not a priestess. And it's your decision, Elsa." Anna held her hand and leaned her head on Elsa's shoulder, watching the flames dancing in front of them.

"I've never considered that before." Elsa had not been expecting such a speech from Anna, though she was right. As Elsa was, she was somehow still uninitiated, preventing her from fully understanding the goddess' ways.

She clasped the pearl of her necklace until it was warm and invited the goddess to guide her. Elsa let her mind wander, and found that it was filled with thoughts of Anna, memories of her kisses, her beautiful naked body, the touch of her hand right now. Elsa interpreted these thoughts and the feelings that they stirred inside her as signs that her silent prayer was answered, and she was glad the answer matched her own wishes.

"I've decided."

"Hm?" Anna looked up. In the warm glow of the firelight and the comfortable silence, she had almost begun to fall asleep.

"I want to make love with you, Anna," Elsa said, with confidence and affection in her voice.

"Elsa..." Anna took her face in her hands, ready to pull her into a tender kiss and begin showing her the pleasures they could feel together.

"Tomorrow," Elsa added, seeing desire in Anna's eyes and taking Anna's hands in hers.

"Why wait?" she asked. "We could spend the rest of tonight in your bed together. There are still hours before I have to leave."

"I just need a little time to prepare and to read, to learn some... things."

"But I can teach you everything I know," Anna said in a sultry whisper, and placed passionate kisses on the soft skin of Elsa's neck, her jaw, and finally her mouth. She ran her tongue lightly over Elsa's lip before pulling away.

Elsa sighed after their mouths parted, Anna's touch felt so good and her heart was beating fast, but she was still not ready yet. "I don't want to disappoint you."

"You could  _never_  disappoint me," Anna assured her. "None of the people I've loved in the past were as beautiful or as kind or as... amazing as you, Elsa! You won't disappoint me."

Elsa felt strange knowing that she wasn't the first person to kiss Anna, that she would not be the first to love her physically, but she saw it as all the more reason to prepare. Elsa was jealous of Anna's past lovers, yet felt so glad that Anna was hers now. She pulled Anna close and kissed her, sweetly, chastely and tenderly.

They exchanged kisses and loving words, nothing more for that night. Anna left, as usual, in the early hours. She and Elsa said a sad farewell before Anna rushed to get home so sleep would help her spend the hours until they could meet again. Now the rain had stopped, when the sun began to rise over Arendelle, it was truly a glorious sight and made their parting slightly more bearable.

When Anna lay in her own bed, dry and dressed in her nightgown, her thoughts drifted back over the fjord to Elsa, the sight of her breasts, the kisses and embraces they had shared...

She found she was wet between her thighs when she slid a finger into herself. Anna hadn't touched herself or felt pleasure in a long time, and as she did so now, she imagined Elsa doing the same, lying naked in her own bed in her tower.

Anna stroked her wet folds, up to her most sensitive point, circling it before rubbing the swollen little nub, hard and fast, making herself writhe; she had to bite her lip to avoid waking her parents with her moans.

She thought of how Elsa would moan, how pink her lower lips would be, how she would be thinking of Anna and feeling pleasure for the first time.

Though Anna guessed Elsa's touch would be more nervous and hesitant, so she slowed her movements, gently sliding her fingers in and out of her core. She changed her imaginings to images of herself touching Elsa like this, tenderly, and Anna brought herself to her release, thinking of how she would hold Elsa and feel her shudder when she felt the same pleasure tomorrow.

Elsa, meanwhile, was also in bed, but she was reading, studying texts that only those in her order were privy to. Elsa hardly ever looked at them, since she had always been more interested in the romantic side of love, until she had met Anna.

She looked at the pictures and read the words, details of acts of love, ways to pleasure other women and to pleasure oneself, yet words and pictures were unable to convey the feelings. Elsa knew she would discover what it was really like soon, and thought of Anna and the things they'd do together tomorrow.

Elsa's palms were damp with sweat, and her centre was wet and tense inside; now she knew the method, Elsa was tempted to try and take care of her needs, but she wanted Anna to be the first to touch her, wanted to share that special moment with the one she loved.

She put the books away and let the feeling fade before she went to sleep, though Elsa's anticipation did not fade, even in her dreams.

Elsa awoke in the afternoon and went to tend the shrine and say her daily prayers, knowing that it was the final time she would do so as a virgin; the thought thrilled her and Elsa knew the goddess would guide her through this initiation into the practices of love.

She knew how to read the signs that the Divines send daily and saw good omens in the ones she witnessed; the candles did not flicker in the breeze but burned bright and strong as the flame of love for Anna in Elsa's heart; a dove - the goddess' bird - flew overhead, and a second soon after; Elsa knew she was meant to be with Anna tonight.

She passed the rest of the day with weaving, the routine activity calming her nerves, since Elsa was still anxious as night began to grow near; though she knew it would bring her what she wanted, Elsa also knew her life would change forever.

Just before the sun went down, Elsa began to fuss about what to wear, wanting to look her most beautiful for Anna, even if they would be unclothed for most of the night. She settled on a loose blue dress that showed her cleavage, with nothing underneath. Elsa undid her braid and brushed her blonde hair until it flowed smoothly down her back to her hips. Finally, she removed her silver necklace, for tonight Elsa would show her devotion to the goddess in her acts, rather than her dress.

Elsa lit candles in every room of her tower, and the fire in her kitchen, before climbing up to the roof and igniting the torch, holding it high above her. The night was clear and Elsa could see every star in the sky, and all the lights in Arendelle illuminating the other side of the fjord.

At last Elsa heard the long-awaited knock on her door and hurried down the steps to let Anna in.

"Anna!" Elsa took her hand and at their touch she was reminded of just how much she had missed her, even after only a day.

"Elsa!" Anna was ready to continue what they had started last night and couldn't wait. Anna  _had_  to kiss her, so she did, though she was wet from the fjord and only pressed her lips to Elsa's briefly, being careful not to dampen her dress.

"Come inside," Elsa said, and smiled at her, closing the door when they were both within the tower.

"I've been thinking about you all day," Anna said as they began to ascend the steps. "I couldn't wait for tonight!" She climbed quicker than usual, anticipation stirring her onwards.

Elsa looked more closely at Anna's body as they went and could see her nipples beneath the wet fabric, her breasts bouncing a little with her movements; Elsa knew what they looked like, and soon she would know how they felt, too. The thought sent a jolt of nervous excitement through her insides, but Elsa knew she was most definitely ready to join with Anna tonight.

The two young women arrived in the warm rooms of Elsa's home and the kitchen's fire enveloped them in its orange glow.

Anna peeled off her dripping blouse and breeches, and laid them out to dry in the heat of the fire, slowly revealing her unclothed beauty to Elsa.

Elsa came closer, her eyes admiring Anna's naked form and all her freckles. "You look beautiful," she said.

"So do you," Anna replied. She reached out to tuck a strand of Elsa's hair behind her ear, it was the first time Anna had seen her wearing it loose. "Your hair is like moonlight," she commented. "Only better; you can't touch moonlight."

Elsa replied by kissing her with smiling lips, hesitantly placing her hands on Anna's naked back, her fingertips stroking her spine.

Anna pulled away before she was compelled to deepen the kiss. "Do you still want to do this?" she asked. "Are you sure you haven't changed your mind?"

"I'm sure," Elsa murmured, pressing their foreheads together.

Anna stroked the elegant line of her lover's jaw and united their lips once more, smiling when they parted again, glad that Elsa wanted this as much as she did. She unfastened the clasps of Elsa's dress, letting it fall to the floor so Elsa was in nothing but her pale skin that almost seemed to glow in the firelight.

Anna's eyes were on her, tracing over the curves of her breasts, her waist, her hips, the golden hair between her legs; Elsa felt them almost as vividly as if Anna was caressing her with her hands.

"Elsa..." Anna whispered, stunned by her beauty. She stroked her lover's hips; Elsa did not flinch at her gentle touch, but placed her soft hands over the top of Anna's.

"Anna..." she said, with a smile on her face, taking Anna's hands in her own and leading her to the bedroom.

It was a little colder in Elsa's room, with no fire, only the candles to light it, but this bothered neither of them once they lay down in the bed together, side by side, facing each other.

Anna could smell the scent of Elsa on the pillows and the blanket covering them both, and she inhaled the scent of her skin when she leaned in to kiss her sweet lips and embrace her soft body.

Anna felt arousal stir within her already, though had to remind herself to take it slowly, to enjoy making love with Elsa more than with anyone else, because this time was special, and she knew Elsa was going to be the only one in her life from now on.

The warmth of their bodies was shared between them beneath the blanket, and soon their passion became more heated, too. When she felt Anna seeking to deepen their kiss, Elsa opened her lips to her and took Anna's tongue into her mouth. The sensation was so wonderful that Elsa couldn't restrain the soft moan that rose from within her. She stroked Anna's tongue with her own as their fingers interwove, until they had to break to breathe, the feelings swirling within making her feel light-headed.

While she caught her breath, Elsa held Anna close, the soft flesh of their breasts pressed against each other, and the hair of their womanhoods pressed together as Elsa nestled her face into Anna's neck, smelling the sweet scent of her skin. Elsa's hand wandered down to her lower back, her fingers tracing the dimples there. Their naked skin together felt wonderful; the heat of their bodies blending together in love was a sensation too beautiful for Elsa to describe.

Anna pulled off the blanket covering them to see the one she loved looking as warm and blushing as she felt herself. It struck her again just how beautiful Elsa was; her flawless form was made for love, made exclusively for Anna, but she had to be sure that this perfect woman would accept her love, since it would be sacrilege to go against her wishes.

"Can I touch you?" Anna asked, her voice breathy with her arousal.

Elsa took her hands and kissed them. "Yes," she said, her joy and anticipation visible in her heavy-lidded eyes and her smile.

Anna kissed her lips and her neck, leaning over her lover and moving downwards. She felt Elsa's breathing quicken when she placed her warm hands on her breasts. Anna leaned back to admire the soft, womanly flesh that she was caressing. She tenderly stroked Elsa's nipples and the soft pink skin around them, occasionally placing kisses on the yielding white flesh, that was gradually growing more flushed as Elsa's blush followed Anna's caresses.

Soft little moans escaped Elsa's lips unbidden, while Anna touched her nipples until they stiffened and began to ache, but it was a good ache, and Anna soothed it when she brought her lips to one and extended her hot, wet tongue to lick it.

Elsa felt heat radiating from her core, she was amazed by what Anna was doing to her body, she had never felt such pleasure before. Though Elsa found herself worrying, despite the pleasure she felt; she knew they were really about to do it, to join together in passion. She loved Anna so much, and wanted her love in return, yet still Elsa worried that Anna would compare her to her previous lovers, or that she would do something wrong, inexperienced as she was, though Elsa did not let it show, and knew that the goddess would guide her as she practised Her arts for the first time.

And Elsa need not have worried, Anna found every inch of the flawless white skin that she caressed with her lips more perfect than any she had ever beheld. She kept kissing downwards until she had positioned herself between Elsa's legs.

She could see the pinkness of Elsa's secret place, contrasting with the golden hair surrounding it. Anna's mouth watered at the sight, Elsa's sex looked delicious. Anna placed a kiss on her curling golden hair, but restrained the urge to lick, knowing she should start slowly since Elsa had never done this before.

Anna gently dipped her finger into the apex of Elsa's folds and found the sensitive bud within, circling it until she felt Elsa gasp and tense with the unfamiliar sensation.

"Are you all right?" Anna asked, concern in her voice.

"I feel... amazing!" Elsa replied, and met her gaze, desire darkening her deep blue eyes.

"We've not even started yet," Anna said, smiling and giving her hand a brief, reassuring squeeze. "Relax, you'll enjoy it."

Elsa let go of her concerns and gave in to the wonderful sensations that took over her body when she felt Anna's warm tongue enter her folds. She had never felt anything like it, so utterly amazing, and couldn't stop herself from crying out.

Anna felt Elsa's fingers brush her hair and laced them with her own again while she came up to kiss Elsa's cheek and see her face, wanting to watch the blonde's expression when she brought her to bliss for the first time.

She brushed a finger over Elsa's entrance before slowly sliding it inside; Elsa was wet, but Anna wanted her to get used to the feeling, since she had never even touched herself in this way. Anna was thrilled to think that she was the only one ever to have the privilege of entering her and showing her just how good it felt to join together in love.

She watched Elsa tenderly, checking she was all right, holding her hand. Elsa's eyes were closed and her lips parted with her panting breaths, but from her smile and her soft moans, Anna could tell that Elsa was enjoying herself.

Anna put a second finger into her, thrusting them slowly, easing them in a little deeper each time until she curled them to touch the part of her core that would give her the most pleasure.

At the contact of Anna's fingertips with the most sensitive spot inside her, Elsa felt complete; she had never realised just how much she had needed Anna until now, Elsa felt like she had always been waiting for her and for this precious moment.

Something was building, intense within her, but Elsa knew Anna would guide her to it, and held her hand tighter while she continued to stroke inside her, quickening her movements until the whole world seemed to contract and expand around her. Elsa couldn't help calling Anna's name when she felt pleasure wash over her.

Anna looked down at Elsa in awe of how beautiful she was. She felt proud to be Elsa's first and knew that no one else could ever love her as much as Anna did at that moment; if she had made an imprint on Elsa's pure body and soul, as pure as fresh snow, then Elsa had made an imprint on Anna's heart which meant that Elsa owned it forever.

Elsa tensed beneath her, wordless cries of pleasure crossed her lips, mingled with Anna's name, and her back arched. Anna held her close until her climax passed.

She felt Anna's fingers leave her. Elsa gained control of her breathing again and opened her eyes to see Anna gazing down at her.

"I'm so glad that the goddess gave us such a gift!" Elsa exclaimed. "That she gave me you! Thank you, Anna." The blonde's expression was beatific while she caressed Anna's cheek.

"You're very welcome, Elsa." Anna lay beside her and rested her head on Elsa's shoulder. Pleasuring Elsa had made her conscious of her own arousal, though Anna was not going to ask Elsa to do anything for her if she didn't want to; knowing she had brought Elsa to bliss was satisfaction enough and Anna could deal with her own needs herself, reliving memories of this later.

But Elsa knew the ways of love and could see the deep blush on Anna's face, her nipples stiff and reaching out to be touched as her own had done. "Should I do the same for you?" Elsa asked her.

"You don't have to, just do whatever you want to do," Anna replied, rambling in her agitation. "If you want to sleep, that's totally fine; if you want to do the same, that's more than fine! But you don't have to."

"I want to," Elsa said. "I want to know every part of you, Anna."

Before Anna could reply, Elsa had leaned over her to unite their lips and kissed her passionately.

Elsa cupped her breasts, felt the soft, freckled flesh and brushed her thumbs over Anna's hardened nipples, making Anna moan into her mouth as sparks of pleasure ignited within her. She released Anna's lips and felt her panting breaths on her face. Elsa glanced into her lover's teal eyes and saw them darkened with desire. They shared a smile of anticipation before the blonde returned to Anna's beautiful body.

Elsa briefly kissed each breast then moved down lower, past Anna's toned stomach, heaving with her breaths, and towards her womanhood.

Anna spread her legs and placed each one over Elsa's shoulders, showing Elsa her most intimate area, wet and waiting for her.

With a flattened tongue, as she had read in the books last night, Elsa licked her lover. Anna tasted like the sea only sweet, and it felt good to glide her tongue up the warm, wet flesh of her sex, and even better to know how much Anna enjoyed it. Elsa could feel the muscles of Anna's legs tensing on her shoulders and heard her gasps above while she explored her folds with her tongue and her fingers. Soon she found Anna's nub of pleasure, red, hardened and sensitive when she licked it.

"Elsa!" Anna gasped, and ran her fingers through her lover's silky blonde hair before gripping the bed sheets when Elsa continued to lick and suck her bundle of nerve endings.

She kept going, loving the taste and the feeling of Anna's sex on her tongue, but soon Elsa knew Anna must need to feel her inside, remembering how wonderful it had felt when Anna had done it for her. Elsa removed her mouth from Anna's folds, licking traces of her essence from her lips, then slid a finger into her core.

"Another... Please...!" Anna moaned, needing more of Elsa's touch within her.

Elsa gladly complied and a second slender finger joined the first, surrounded by Anna's heat and wetness.

She looked at Anna's flushed face, judging her reactions until she found the right spot; which had a slightly different texture, like the books had described. Elsa stroked and rubbed at the area with her fingers to give Anna as much bliss as she could. And Elsa saw that it was obviously working, the blush on Anna's cheeks had spread to her bosom and her panting breaths were interspersed with sensual moans. Elsa placed her free hand over Anna's and felt her grip it tightly as she continued towards her climax.

Anna didn't understand how Elsa made her feel so good, since this was the first time she had ever done this, but Anna didn't care; Elsa's touch was magical and they were clearly meant to be together. Elsa built the pleasure inside her so much that Anna reached her peak, unable to stop herself from crying out while she uncoiled and shuddered around her fingers.

Her cries of pleasure were like music to Elsa's ears, she heard her own name in such enraptured tones from Anna's lips while she watched a multitude of expressions flicker across her features, glad that she had brought Anna to each one. The way Anna's inner muscles squeezed her fingers felt so intimate, and Elsa was the happiest that she had ever been.

When Anna's bliss subsided, Elsa slid her soaked fingers out of her centre and kissed her sweat-dampened brow.

"I love you, Elsa," Anna said, stroking her hair.

"I love you, too, Anna," Elsa replied, and lay down beside her, enfolding Anna in her arms.

The two young women simply lay together, not needing more words to express their love; their embraces and touches were enough.

Soothed by the sounds of the sea in the distance, and the breathing and heartbeat of her beloved in her arms, Elsa and Anna may have even briefly fallen into a peaceful sleep, but the pre-dawn light soon shone through the window.

Anna wished the night would never end so she could spend the rest of her life here with Elsa in this blessed pleasure, but the night and the day were bound to their own duties, as were she and Elsa, yet Anna knew their next meeting would be even sweeter now they knew the things they could do together.

"I don't want to leave." Anna sighed and sat up, the blanket falling from her freckled figure.

"Then stay," Elsa said, rolling over and wrapping her arms around Anna's waist.

"My parents would worry," said Anna, stroking circles in Elsa's soft white arms with her thumbs.

"I worry." She leaned her head against Anna, who smoothed her hair.

"You don't have to worry. Nothing can keep me away from you for very long, Elsa. I'll see you after sunset and it'll seem like we were never even apart." She rose from the bed, but when Elsa rose too, Anna guided her back down.

"You stay here; you've earned a rest," she said, tucking the blanket around her. "Sleep well, Elsa." Anna kissed her cheek, but when she did, Elsa pulled her face close to kiss her lips.

"I'll miss you," Elsa said, her blue eyes full of love and wonder as they gazed into Anna's own, amazed by the emotions she both felt and inspired in the woman gazing back at her.

"I'll miss you, too," Anna replied, prolonging the moment until it almost became painful how much she loved her, then went to leave the room, looking back to see Elsa smiling sleepily at her, giving her a final loving glance before Anna went to collect her clothes and swim home, though she felt she had left home behind her.

When Elsa next prayed at the shrine, she felt closer than ever to the Divine source of the love and beauty she had experienced last night. The priestess felt the goddess' power surround her and gave offerings of thanks for bringing True Love into her life, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Elsa spent the evening studying love poetry and thinking of Anna until the sun went down, covering the land in darkness and ushering in a still, calm night. That night, Elsa secured her torch to the stone of the tower, something she could not believe she hadn't thought to do before. But now she did not want to waste a single moment of her night with Anna, feeling the need for her touch stronger than anything, and she waited down in her doorway to take Anna into her arms as soon as she arrived.

Anna saw her standing in front of her tower, illuminated by the light from the open door behind, her long, loose blonde hair flowing around her as she ran to meet her; Elsa seemed even more beautiful than the last time Anna had seen her, if that was possible.

Their fervent kisses and embraces left them renewed; even just a day apart had felt like too long away from the other's arms.

When Anna pulled away, she saw she had got Elsa's thin white dress wet again, and that she was naked underneath.

She saw Anna's eyes on her and laced their fingers together. "Let's go to bed," Elsa said, her voice and her eyes unable to conceal the desire she had been feeling all day.

Anna pressed her lips to their joined fingers and followed Elsa up to her room and to another night of indescribable pleasures.

These trysts lasted all through the warm summer. Neither Anna nor Elsa knew how they had lived without their nightly meetings.

For Anna, the days were dull while she waited for nightfall. Distracted from her work, she somehow felt she did not belong in the tavern in which she had lived all her life when she knew that Elsa, the other half of Anna's soul, was separated from her by the fjord.

But Elsa performed her religious duties with an understanding she had never possessed before Anna came into her life; such a short time ago, though their connection was beyond all forms of measurement.

Anna helped Elsa to feel the goddess' gift, and though the priestess spent her days in solitary worship, it was not the same as being with Anna and sharing the pleasure of her company as they practised the arts of love.

Yet one night, the fading year brought an autumn storm, heralding that winter was coming, ready to change the lives of the two lovers forever.

The sailors in the tavern had told of rough weather out at sea that had sent them racing to the harbour in their ships, though when Anna looked out at the sky and the fjord they seemed dark, but not dangerous.

Elsa had seen these sights too, and wondered whether she should light the torch or lie without Anna that night. But the powers of fate and love combined and persuaded, so, desperate to see the one she loved, Elsa climbed to the top of her tower and lit her torch, holding it and guarding it from the rising wind.

All the people of Arendelle were inside their shuttered homes, except for Anna, who stood looking at the light in the distance. The water of the fjord was not too rough, though there were more waves than Anna had seen in a long time, and when she dived in the cold almost chilled her to the bones. But the fjord was only water, and in Anna's heart there was a fire that she could feel warming her and giving her strength as she swam, and that she could see made physical on the opposite shore in Elsa's light.

Once she had reached halfway, instead of the usual surge of strength she felt as she knew that she was close to Elsa, Anna began to falter. She had to fight against the rising waves to stay afloat and Anna held her breath as she was dragged under.

When she surfaced again, the sea and the sky had combined in matching shades of blackness and a heavy rain began to fall while Anna was blown by the wind and tossed by the waves as if she were a mere feather floating on the surface. But still Anna swam towards the light, using all the strength she had, while she could still see it.

Elsa watched the fjord grow wild and her worries grew wilder when a wind as cold as her fears blew out her torch.

The sky was lit a moment later by a flash of lightning, and the deafening rumble of thunder that followed it made Elsa drop the dampened torch before she ran back into her tower and down the spiral stairs, praying as she did for the goddess whom she served and who held this land sacred to intervene and spare the life of the one she loved.

Her heart was beating fast in her chest and her wet hair clung to her body as Elsa begged for the Divines to bring Anna to her, and by the time she had left her tower, Elsa could see that they seemed to have heard her and hope kindled in her heart when she saw the fjord had stilled.

But that hope flickered and grew faint as Elsa neared the shore and saw Anna lying in the shallows, the skin of her face and her limbs looking pale against the dark water.

"Anna!" Elsa cried, but her voice was drowned out by another peal of thunder from above. The rain still fell and the wind still blew so Elsa wasted no time and ran to Anna. She dragged the redhead's limp form from the water and lifted her.

Elsa's love gave her strength and she carried Anna. The weight of her soaked clothes made her heavy, yet Elsa carried her over the sand and stones, and climbed up the steps in the cliff, her feet not faltering on the wet ground, until she had brought Anna within the tower's hall.

She gently laid Anna on the floor and stroked the soaked strands of hair off her face, her heart jumping with gratitude when she felt Anna's breath now that they were out of the wind.

"Please wake up!" Elsa said, softly shaking her shoulder. Her tears fell onto Anna's already wet face when she leaned in to kiss her lips.

Elsa sat back and watched in wonder as Anna's eyelids flickered and she woke, coughing for a few moments before she regained her breath and opened her eyes.

"Anna, are you all right? Are you hurt?" Elsa asked anxiously, so relieved that she had been spared.

"I'm cold... and wet... and I feel like I swallowed half the fjord, but I'm fine. Because now you're here." Anna smiled and sat up; she felt a little dizzy but she was supported by Elsa's embrace.

"I thought I'd lost you!" Elsa clung to her tightly, tears of joy dripping onto Anna's wet shoulder.

"Elsa..." Anna's fingers gripped the fabric of her dress. "Nothing can keep me away from you."

They stayed wrapped in each other's arms while the thunder continued to sound outside and the wind howled against the tower. Now they were joined together, Elsa warmed Anna with her heart; with Elsa holding her, the storm would do her no harm.

Elsa supported her up the stairs and sat her by the fire, feeding the dying flames, which rekindled and burned brightly, despite the wind and the rain outside. She dressed Anna in dry clothes before she changed her own, then took the blanket from her own bed and wrapped it round her beloved to make sure any traces of the cold from the fjord were gone.

Anna watched, warm and comfortable in wordless companionship while Elsa boiled a kettle on the fire to brew tea from peppermint leaves she had grown and prepared herself.

When they sat side by side to drink it, Anna wrapped Elsa in the blanket too, and together they shared each other's warmth which surrounded them while the storm raged on outside.

"I'm glad there was a storm tonight," Elsa said. "Because now you have to stay here with me until tomorrow." She tweaked Anna's freckled nose and made her grin.

"Yeah, the journey's too dangerous now," Anna agreed. "But I'll always be safe as long as I'm with you, Elsa." She leaned her head on Elsa's shoulder; the storm had shaken Anna more than she would admit.

"Next time you cross the fjord, I'll be by your side," Elsa promised. "And we'll take the long way round."

Elsa drank the rest of her tea while she summoned the courage to say the words that she had wanted to for months, since she had first realised how much she loved Anna. "Marry me, Anna. Live here and stay with me forever."

Elsa's hair looked almost the same colour as Anna's own in the firelight, and the intense love in her deep blue eyes burned even brighter than the flames. "Please," she added, squeezing Anna's hand.

"Elsa, of course I will!" Anna replied and kissed her, unable to understand how she had ever left her side, but it had taken the lucky escape of that night to make Anna see that there was no sense in wasting any more time apart from the one she loved with all her heart.

The next day was still and calm, as if the storm had never been, though much had changed for Elsa and Anna.

They travelled to Arendelle, spending hours together on the road around the fjord admiring the views of the fjord and the forest, and each other, never ceasing to be amazed by the other's beauty.

Elsa obtained consent from Anna's parents and the two of them were married the next morning in the temple of the Divines.

Anna showed her beautiful bride the sights of the city, the places and the people she cared for the most, before she packed her possessions and left the home in which she had spent her whole life, ready to enter a new stage of life as Elsa's wife.

Elsa supported her through her goodbyes, ensuring that Anna's family would be welcome to visit whenever they wished. Then she and Anna went to live together in Elsa's tower and to worship the goddess of love and beauty in their own private way, True Love guiding their hearts and souls and blessing them with eternal happiness.


	12. Andromeda

In every world and in every time, every person - man or woman, young or old - loves to hear stories and legends of heroes and heroines, and the bravery and courage they possess. Everyone loves to hear such tales, but few are able to live them.

Anna was one of those few; she lived legends. Anna had done great deeds in her young life that had earned her a place of esteem among other noble warriors and champions throughout the history of her land. She helped those in danger and destroyed those who caused it; she had a strong sense of justice and the power to deal it, because Anna was a demigoddess.

She was the daughter of the Chief of the Divines himself and a beautiful mortal mother, and had always been aware of her supernatural ancestry, assisted on occasion by her immortal relatives, as well as her mortal ones. As soon as she was old enough to fight and fend for herself, Anna found adventures, or sometimes they found her; she never seemed to be far from excitement and wondrous events.

Anna's latest adventure took place on her birthday, though this fact had slipped her mind, and as she flew with her winged boots along the coast of a country to which she had never been before, Anna was also unaware that Fate was leading her towards the greatest adventure of her life.

She wore gold armour fitted to her shapely figure and a white cloak that billowed behind her, though nobody looked up to behold her when she flew swiftly over a city on the flooded coast and saw its empty stone streets and steep, pointed roofs beneath her.

Anna flew beyond the boundaries of the city, spying some outlying rocks down below, she turned her gaze towards them when she noticed that on one there was a figure, white against the hard, grey rock. Curious, she flew lower to take a closer look.

When Anna beheld the woman on the rock, she almost thought her to be a beautiful statue, so perfect was her every feature, and she was standing so still that only her long, light-blonde hair moved in the breeze. The most noticeable feature about the young woman was that her long hair was the only thing covering her body, and though the shining tresses flowed to her hips, her naked form was displayed to the world in all its glory.

Anna was astonished, captivated by the blonde's beauty and almost lost her footing in the air as questions filled her mind, so she decided to discover the answers and swooped down to talk to the beautiful fair stranger.

She shied away when Anna landed, though she could not move far, allowing the heroine to see that she looked even better up close, and that she possessed true beauty; she was a vision of white and pink and gold, utterly lovely as she stood upon the rock.

Anna's eyes quickly took in the young woman's figure, lingering a little in turn on her full breasts, with pink nipples stiffened by the cold sea breeze, her slender waist, her long legs and the hair between her thighs, a couple of shades darker than that of her head. Her elegant wrists were shackled and connected to long chains that had been bolted to the rock; she looked as though she would have lifted her hands to conceal her blushing features if she had not been bound, and her averted eyes were overflowing with tears.

Anna sensed something ethereal about her, the woman was beautiful enough to have Divine blood in her veins, like herself. Though the truth was that she was completely mortal, and the supernatural force that Anna sensed in her was their pre-ordained connection; she did not know it yet but this woman's soul was bound to her own with a bond that was infinitely stronger than the chains which secured her to the rock.

"What's your name?" Anna asked, her voice gentle. "And why are you chained here?"

At first she was silent and shy, avoiding Anna's gaze and filling her eyes with tears anew.

"Come on, you can tell me," the heroine continued. "Whatever you've done must have been pretty bad to get you here!"

"I haven't done anything," the woman said, looking at Anna with eyes deep blue and proud, but sad. She lowered them a moment later, leaving Anna stunned by their beauty and power. "I'm here as a sacrifice."

"That's horrible!" Anna exclaimed. "Why?"

"As a punishment for my mother's words," she replied, warming towards Anna. "I'm Princess Elsa of Arendelle. A few days ago, we turned away the princes from the neighbouring lands and all the other men who wanted to be my suitors. They'd been in the city since I came of age last year and I'm not interested in marrying any of them. My mother made a speech to all the men who wanted to ask for my hand and said I am too beautiful for any man, but she didn't stop there, she said I'm even more beautiful than all the nymphs in the sea."

Anna listened attentively; she knew the gods were mysterious and their motives erratic, but she could tell that those words would have offended them, though it was certainly true that Elsa was too beautiful for any man.

"Then the city was flooded," Elsa continued. "The water went away, but an oracle warned that another flood would come, and a monster with it, to destroy all of Arendelle and sweep the city from the earth, unless they offered me as a sacrifice here on this rock on the eve of the longest day of the year. So they bound me here and left me until - " Elsa fixed her eyes behind Anna and screamed with pure terror.

Before the Princess had even finished telling of her fate, it had arrived. Anna spun round to see the waves roaring all around them and the monster approaching, its head rising out of the boundless ocean in the distance, like an island, moving closer. The sea monster was a giant elemental beast, the kraken belonging to Anna's uncle, the god of the sea; though she did not know this and saw only a hideous creature that would take the light of this woman's beauty out of this world if she let it.

And, of course, Anna was not going to let it. She watched the giant, squid-like monster swim towards her, yet felt no fear in her heart; all apprehension within Anna was wiped out by burgeoning love, though she was not aware of it at that moment. The only thing Anna was aware of was that she had made a decision that she knew was going to change her life.

Anna pulled her sword from its scabbard, the sound of the metal ringing around the rock, clear and loud above the roaring waves.

"What are you doing?" Elsa asked, seeing her getting ready to fight the monster coming towards them. "This is my punishment, I have to die to appease the Divines! It's their judgement!"

"I'm half-Divine, and I judge that you should live!" Anna called, turning back to Elsa, seeing her blue eyes wide and filled with tears again, before looking ahead to the monstrous creature.

It was speeding towards them, ploughing through the water, impelled by its many dripping limbs as it rose. Still a far distance from the rocks, it fully reared its head, sending waves crashing over the rock the two women stood on.

Suddenly, Anna spurned the rock with her feet and flew high into the air towards the beast. As she got closer, she saw how hideous it was, its flesh green and brown and wet from the sea water, but Anna kept flying towards it, a plan to defeat the kraken swiftly forming in her mind.

When it saw the heroine's shadow cast upon the surface of the sea by the setting sun, the monster vented its fury on the silhouette, thinking it to be real, fooled by Anna's quick thinking.

Like a mighty eagle that spies its prey exposed to the sky, the half-Divine heroine swooped down and plunged her sword into the back of the kraken's monstrous skull again and again while black blood sprayed up from the wounds.

This beast was by no means the worst that Anna had fought in her years of adventuring; its huge size made it slow and the attacks it aimed with its tentacles were easy to avoid. Anna's reflexes were quicker than lightning and she wielded her sword like it was a deadly extension of her arm.

The demigoddess had defeated enemies in the past with just her bare hands and with equal ease, though most of them had been humans, in possession of cold and calculating minds. The kraken, in comparison, was only an animal following its instincts and it was a case of kill or be killed, so Anna showed no mercy.

It roared aloud, tortured by the fatal wounds, and struggled in its death throes, sometimes plunging beneath the waves, sometimes raising itself aloft in the air and reaching to strike at Anna.

And still she felt no fear. Driven by love and strength, Anna continued to calculate the kraken's weak points, ready to make its death come even quicker. The heroine never enjoyed killing fellow living creatures, but she knew that by ending this monster's life, she would be saving the lives of not only herself and Elsa, but countless others, too.

With her swift winged boots, Anna easily avoided the fierce bites of the monster, and with her shining sword, she hacked at the flailing tentacles that were aimed at her while the kraken sprayed steam mingled with blood from its mouth as it died.

And when it finally did die, its huge corpse stained the surrounding sea black with blood and calmed the waves as it sank back into the depths.

Anna returned to Elsa, landing on the rock in front of her; with her half-Divine grace, the demigoddess was unsullied by the creature's blood and entrails, and her eyes shone with her victory.

Elsa watched, awestruck, as Anna held her sword aloft and brought it down, as quick as lightning, to break the chains that bound the Princess, then sheathed her blade again. Next Anna snapped the shackles with her hands, hooking her fingers carefully but firmly in between Elsa's slender wrists and the metal, pulling apart the bonds with her strength, leaving the Princess free as she discarded the broken shackles onto the stone, the harsh metallic sound of them echoing above the calming ocean waves.

"Thank you!" Elsa cried, flinging her arms around Anna's shoulders and embracing her tightly. Elsa snuggled into her, tears of gratitude falling down the neck of Anna's armour, and the heroine felt her heart begin to race when the sweet scent of the other woman's hair surrounded her. Anna hesitantly placed her hands on Elsa's naked back for a few moments, the heat of their bare skin mingling together before she pulled away.

"Here," Anna said, unfastening her cloak and handing it to Elsa, who wrapped it around herself. The pure white fabric looked almost dull compared to the beauty of Elsa's naked skin, but Anna found it much less distracting. "Let's get you home. I, um, I'll have to carry you to the shore."

Anna took Elsa into her arms and lifted her, launching them both into the air. It was not far to the land but they flew low over the waves, the wings of Anna's boots were fatigued with the weight of both young women, slender though they were. Their skin was separated by the fabric of the cloak, yet Anna could still feel the warmth and the curves of the woman she carried. Elsa's arms were around her shoulders again, and Anna supported her with an arm around her waist and the other under her knees.

She had not been so close to someone else for a long time, and never anyone quite like Elsa. The pure perfection of her form in such close proximity made heat blossom in Anna's face and her heart feel as though it was going to flutter out of her chest.

She set Elsa down upon the sand when they arrived and the two of them walked together on the beach, in the twilight now that the sun had set. Anna led the way towards the city she had passed earlier; they walked in silence, Anna uncharacteristically speechless, and Elsa still shy as she clutched the cloak around herself.

After a little while, Anna halted, as did Elsa, when they came to a forest. "I flew over your city earlier, but it's probably about half a day's walk on foot. We'll have to spend the night in the woods and I'll take you home tomorrow."

"I don't mind," Elsa replied. "It'll give me some time to think about things before I return." The Princess had prepared herself for death, but now she had been saved so suddenly by Anna, it would take time to get used to her normal life again, and her contemplation would be helped by a night close to nature, along with Anna's company.

She could not have explained why she felt so at ease around the redhead, though Elsa was somehow comfortable with this stranger who had seen her naked body and carried her with strong arms; Elsa somehow felt that she didn't have to put on a show around her, unlike with the company she had kept her entire life back in her castle. Elsa felt that this woman had seen who she really was, and the feeling thrilled her.

They entered the forest and Anna began to gather branches from the forest floor to use as firewood, carrying a pile of them in her arms.

"Can I help?" Elsa asked, not wanting to be a burden to the one who saved her.

"It's fine," Anna said. "This should be enough." She smiled at Elsa reassuringly; Anna knew that if she let go of the cloak to help her then she'd expose her nakedness again, and wanted to save both herself and Elsa from that awkwardness, even if Anna  _did_  want to see her body again... But the heroine's honour was stronger than her desire, at that moment in time.

The two young women reached a small clearing where Anna suggested they stay for the night. In almost no time at all, she had arranged the branches and kindled a fire with sparks from striking a stone against her sword. She sheathed it again before turning to Elsa. "I'm going to hunt for some food, I won't be long," she said. "Just make sure the fire doesn't go out!"

"Please don't leave me alone," said Elsa, walking towards her.

There was vulnerability in her voice, and Anna realised just how vulnerable she truly was; it was foolish to even consider leaving a beautiful naked woman on her own and undefended in a forest, there could be anything within the woods that would harm her if given a chance. Anna decided she would not leave Elsa's side until she was safe and back in her home.

And Anna would have to leave her for good tomorrow, anyway... She wanted to spend time with Elsa while she could.

"Don't worry, I'll stay with you for as long as you like," Anna said, briefly placing a hand on her shoulder. "But we still need to eat..."

Luckily, Anna's keen eyes spotted some apples growing high up in a tree, unusual for this time of year, since it was still summer; she suspected her Divine family were involved. They often helped her in such small ways, and Anna was always thankful, even if she sometimes preferred to solve her difficulties herself, though now Anna did not think twice before accepting their small gift.

She flew up to fetch the fruit and came back with almost too many apples to carry, giving half of her findings to Elsa.

"Thank you," Elsa said, grateful for yet another kindness that Anna had shown her.

"You're welcome, Elsa," Anna replied, saying her name for the first time, and finding that speaking it was just as beautiful as hearing it.

They ate their apples, Anna watching the fire and Elsa studying her saviour. Elsa looked at her red hair in its two braids, which would look out of place on anyone else when worn with armour, but somehow suited this young woman very well. Though Elsa thought there was certainly something mysterious about her, with her white strand of hair - a stark contrast with the rest of her red tresses - her magical skills and possessions... and her beauty.

It occurred to Elsa that she was sharing food and a fire with a complete stranger, and although Elsa trusted her totally, she wanted to learn more about the one who had rescued her.

"I still don't know your name, or who you are," said Elsa, looking at Anna with friendliness and faint curiosity.

"My name's Anna," she replied, smiling at Elsa with equal warmth in her expression. "I'm kind of famous in my homeland, have you heard of me in Arendelle?"

"I'm sorry to say I haven't."

"Well," Anna began. "I'm the daughter of a Divine father and a human mother. I'm mortal, though, I'll live just as long as anyone else, and I get hurt the same, too. But maybe I'm stronger than most other people."

"And more beautiful," Elsa added.

Anna paused at the unexpected compliment. "I don't know about  _that_ , but - "

"It's true," Elsa said, with a smile and a certain expression in her blue eyes... though it might just have been the firelight.

"Whatever..." Anna blushed and looked away, before continuing. "My sword and the flying boots were gifts from my Divine relatives. They don't work if ordinary people try to wield them, but I use them to help people, like how I helped you..." Anna thought of the many others she had assisted in the past, people whom she hadn't seen in years... She hoped that Elsa would remember her after their time together had ended; Elsa would certainly be in Anna's thoughts long after they parted, the beauty that the Princess possessed would haunt her memories forever, even if they never saw each other again.

"Anyway, you should get some sleep," she said. "We have to walk a long way back to your city tomorrow."

Elsa didn't want to sleep, even though she felt weary; sleeping would be a waste of time, when the time she could spend with Anna was limited and Elsa wanted to learn everything about her before she returned to her home in the castle.

But she did not say this aloud, since she had only met Anna a few hours ago, and Elsa could not explain the emotions she was feeling towards the other girl, things she had never felt for anyone before, the desire to  _know_  her.

She lay down, wrapping the cloak firmly around herself. "Goodnight, Anna, and thank you again," Elsa said, before closing her eyes to do what Anna had suggested.

"Goodnight, Elsa," she replied. Anna fed the fire and stood watching the flames and letting her thoughts wander until she lost track of time.

She sat on the ground, leaning against a tree, and turned her eyes back to Elsa, who now seemed to be in a restful sleep. The Princess lay just outside the orange embrace of the flames, where the moonlight shone down between the branches and bathed her in its sublime light instead.

 _Elsa..._  Even her name was beautiful. Her hair was white fire in the glow from the moon, her skin like freshly-fallen snow, and a fluttering feeling arose in Anna's stomach as she passed her eyes over Elsa's beautiful reclining body, Elsa's curves, Elsa's elegance, even whilst asleep... And Anna wanted to hold her...

When Anna moved her gaze back to the sleeping Princess' face, the sight of Elsa's beauty shot through her heart. Thoughts came unbidden into Anna's mind that astonished her. She felt she had found her destiny; from that moment, Anna knew she would do anything for Elsa, from that moment, she knew she loved Elsa.

But the moon affects the brain, and Anna told herself that she shouldn't be thinking of love when they had only just met.

And other thoughts occurred to Anna, thoughts of their differences; Anna felt unfeminine compared to the Princess, dressed in her armour, with her body toned, scarred and freckled, compared to Elsa's soft, blushing beauty.

Though Anna was most definitely not unhappy with herself; she had enjoyed an idyllic childhood, she now had a strong body and a pretty face, what more could any mortal desire or deserve?

To love and be loved was what Anna wanted most of all, to live happily with someone special to her and spend the rest of their days together.

It was easier for a Princess like Elsa. The lives of such royal women were planned out by their parents from birth, deciding their betrothals and governing where they would live out their lives, not having to seek such things for themselves. Even though it sounded as if Elsa wasn't like other Princesses, she had said she was not interested in marrying a prince... Maybe that meant she preferred women, as did Anna...

Yet Anna knew such women were rare. Other Princesses she had assisted in the past had never shown any interest in her beyond being polite, though Elsa seemed interested, genuinely. There was a particular look in her eyes when she had listened to Anna, not just her rapt attention... And she had said Anna was beautiful... Well, Elsa certainly was beautiful. And Anna knew she'd just have to see what would happen, if anything even  _would_ happen.

Anna watched Elsa sleep for a little while before taking out her sword and a cloth to clean it. It didn't need cleaning, the sword could slice through marble without leaving the slightest blemish on the blade, but Anna liked to do so anyway.

When she looked at her reflection in the flawless metal, Anna saw another face beside her own, a face bearded and infinitely wise.

" _My beautiful daughter!_ "

Anna felt rather than heard the words, but she saw the mouth of the reflection move and recognised the face immediately. "Father! What brings you here tonight?" she asked, keeping her voice low so she wouldn't disturb Elsa.

" _It's your birthday, Anna, don't you remember? It's the longest day of the year!_ "

"Of course..." Anna replied. "I've been so busy that I'd forgotten!"

The Divine reflection smiled at her kindly. " _Well, I bring no present to you this year other than knowledge, since destiny has provided you with the only gift you will ever need_."

Anna's heart jumped in her chest as she dared to hope that her future would somehow involve Elsa.

Her father chuckled softly as he read her thoughts. " _It is as you hope, child," he said. "Elsa will be the sun, the moon and the sky to you. You two will share the kind of love that gods and kings fight over, though you will live in peace. You are lucky, Anna, since it has been decided that Elsa is too beautiful for any man, and she will share that beauty with you until the end of time._ "

"That's the best birthday present ever. Thank you, Father!"

" _Farewell, Anna!_ "

Anna smiled while his reflection faded, then put her sword away. She knew Divine gifts should never be questioned, simply accepted, and understood that Fate would work itself out, though waiting for their foretold love to blossom would require patience...

Anna lay down and gazed at Elsa's sleeping form across the fading fire until she could no longer keep her eyes from closing.

When Anna opened them again, she saw Elsa sitting beside her. The Princess' blonde hair was braided and she had arranged Anna's cloak around her, almost like a toga. Though it still did not cover her properly and Anna could see the edge of the pink skin around one of her nipples; somehow she found the sight more tantalising than seeing Elsa completely naked. Anna thought the Queen of Arendelle was right to describe her daughter as more beautiful than the nymphs; she could see why those Divines were jealous and wanted Elsa punished, but Anna silently vowed she would never let such a thing happen again.

"Good morning," Elsa said, and held out an apple for her.

"Thanks!" Anna reached out to take it from her fair, white hand and sat up. "Did you sleep well?" she asked, then took a bite.

"I did," Elsa replied. "It was a deep, dreamless sleep... I felt safe with you nearby."

"I'm glad," Anna said, remembering what her father had told her of their future. She spent a couple of moments sharing a smile with Elsa, before turning her mind back to their current task. "Are you ready to go home?"

"There's no need for us to hurry," she said, lowering her eyes shyly. "I like spending time here away from the city... And with you."

"Your parents will be grieving for you, they don't know you're alive," Anna said to distract herself from her internal cheering that Elsa seemed to like her already. "We shouldn't leave them suffering," she added, standing up.

"You're right," Elsa said, standing up, too. Her elegant fingers toyed with the end of her braid. "Will you stay in the city when we get there? You can be my guest of honour at the castle."

"Of course! I'll stay as long as you want me to," Anna agreed, before they began the long walk to Elsa's home.

When they both looked back on that journey later in their blissful lives, it seemed to have taken no time at all, but the sun was significantly lower in the sky as they arrived in the outskirts of Arendelle.

Elsa had loved spending that day with Anna, just the two of them and the beautiful countryside. She loved watching the way Anna walked and the summer sunlight on her red hair, all the while listening to tales of the heroine's life or telling Anna a few of her own, teaching her about her land. Elsa had never met anyone like Anna before, she was such a free spirit and had done so many interesting deeds; Elsa had never met anyone she liked so much, either.

The streets of Arendelle were quiet and traces of the flood could still be seen on the stones. There were only a few citizens, since most had fled fearing the impending disaster of the monster and the flood. But those who had remained or returned stared to see the Princess they had thought dead and who had brought such trouble to the land now walking through the streets so scantily dressed.

When she saw Elsa looking embarrassed and flushed with her distress, Anna linked her arm and led her onwards, giving her a smile of reassurance, understanding how strange this must be for her, yet wordlessly letting the Princess know that she had her protection.

Elsa felt the strength of Anna's arm muscles under her fingers and felt safe, as she had done ever since she first saw Anna. Everything around them disappeared with Anna's touch and when she looked into Anna's blue-green eyes, the only thing that mattered to Elsa was the spark she saw in them.

Soon, the two young women came into the castle, where the guards rushed to bring the Princess' royal parents to see their daughter safe and living, freed from the fate that had been prophesied.

The King and Queen were overjoyed and took her into their arms, holding her tightly. Anna watched happily, proud to have done something so kind for these people in need.

"But what happened to the monster?" Elsa's mother asked, stroking her precious daughter's face, shedding tears of guilt and gladness, since she had been the one to put her in such danger.

"Anna saved me," Elsa replied simply, stepping out of her parents' embrace and standing next to Anna, sharing a fond glance with her.

The King turned to his daughter's saviour and recognised her from the tales he had heard. "Demigoddess," he said, bowing down on one knee. "What can my wife and I give you as thanks for delivering our daughter and our kingdom from punishment?"

Anna considered this in silence for a few moments, then remembered the words of her own Divine father, that she and Elsa were destined to share their lives... She knew she would be welcome here, and Anna could tell that Elsa didn't want her to leave from their conversations on the journey; they had both grown so close in the single day since they met, Anna could tell she would not be refused.

"I could ask you for treasure as repayment," Anna began. "But what I want is a gift more precious and beautiful than all the gold and pearls and sapphires in the world. What I ask is that you give me your daughter's hand in marriage. If that's what you want, too, Elsa. I know we've just met, but I'd like to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Anna, I feel the same!" Elsa said, turning to look in Anna's eyes with a radiant smile on her lips.

The King stood and saw the loving look they gave each other. He took Elsa and Anna's hands and united them. "Elsa is of age, we're no longer young," he said, standing beside his wife and putting a hand on her shoulder. "We'll abdicate the throne and you can both rule Arendelle together!"

The Queen clapped her hands with joy. "You two will be the first pair of Queens in our history and I have no doubt that with such beautiful Queens, Arendelle will be the greatest land the world has ever known!"

Elsa and Anna looked at each other, seeing pure love in their eyes and sensing that this was just the start of a wonderful life together.

In the few days that followed, the citizens of Arendelle returned to their homes. All forgave the royal family for accidentally putting them in danger for a short while, and praised Anna for delivering them from it, restoring their beautiful Princess to them again.

On the day of the wedding, garlands were hung from houses in every street and the melodies of flutes, lyres and songs resounded all around, but there was a sacred silence in the temples where the people dedicated offerings in celebration of Anna's Divine family joining together with Elsa's. All attending felt the invisible immortal presence smiling on the joint ceremonies; both the wedding and the coronation were held on the same day, a perfect summer morning with the bright sun shining down from a cloudless azure sky.

In the afternoon, the castle gates were thrown open, the Great Hall prepared and the two new Queens sat down with their nobles, their family and friends to a splendid wedding banquet. There had never been a wedding between two women before in Arendelle, though it was a common practice in neighbouring countries, so it was a curious and joyous occasion for all in the land.

Both brides were stunningly beautiful in their matching outfits. On her loose blonde hair, Elsa wore a crown like golden leaves, Anna's was the same and shone brightly on her unbraided red tresses, with her unique white strand amidst them.

Anna felt more feminine than she had in years wearing a white dress that was fitted to her curves and fastened at her shoulders with ornate gold clasps. She had placed her sword, armour and boots safely away in her and Elsa's room, not knowing when she would need them again, and the lightness she felt without them made Anna's movements sprightly and more nimble than usual.

Heads had turned towards them both when they entered the Hall and Anna was unused to the glances of appreciation and admiration of her beauty that she could feel from those all around.

But Elsa's eyes had been on her since they had met that morning in the temple, and every so often Anna would catch her looking at her curves or her cleavage. When their eyes met, Elsa's shy smile and the knowledge that her bride found her beautiful were all that mattered to Anna; she knew that soon, when they were alone together tonight, it would be Elsa's hands moving over her body, not just her eyes.

While they feasted, Anna told the tale of how she and Elsa met, and other deeds of magic and adventure for the entertainment and awe of all who listened, as Elsa watched her beloved bride adoringly, proud to be joined to such an amazing person in holy matrimony, to spend the rest of their lives together and have adventures of their own.

After the feast it was time for their first dance and the two Queens stood before each other in the centre of the hall. Now that Anna was not wearing her magnificent armour and boots, her true height was revealed; she was slightly shorter than Elsa so she let her lead the dance. Elsa was also more practised at such formal dances, so with her leading, together they were both the picture of sophisticated grace.

Soon, the sun had set, ushering in the wedding night and a new adventure of love for Anna and Elsa.

They sat together on the bed, caressing each other's hands, that they had not parted since their first dance. Elsa stroked her wife's palms and noted that Anna's hands were not calloused, they were soft despite her years of wielding a sword, though they were not as soft as her own.

"I feel like I've known you all my life," Elsa said, tracing Anna's life line with her finger.

"I expect we have known each other before, somehow," said Anna, her Divine ancestry giving her a hint of the ways of the universe. "In other lives and in other times..." She raised her hand to Elsa's cheek and gently titled her face towards her, uniting their lips.

They kissed as only two women can kiss, with an understanding of the other's body and the things that made them both feel good, equal in sensitivity and pleasure. The softness of their mouths and their breasts pressed together, joining in sweetness and beauty while their tongues entwined.

Anna reluctantly pulled away from Elsa's lips, but reached over to brush away the long blonde hair that hid the fastenings of her dress, hoping to uncover the sweetness of her body that Anna had seen on the day they met and had been dreaming of ever since.

Though Elsa stopped her, placing a hand over Anna's own and looking at her with shyness in her eyes beneath her golden lashes.

"What's wrong?" Anna asked. "I've already seen you naked, and you're beautiful, Elsa."

"That was different," Elsa muttered. "I've never done this with anyone before, I - "

Anna stroked her cheek. "I won't do anything if you don't feel ready yet," she said, smiling kindly when Elsa met her gaze. "But you can touch me however you like." Anna's voice was low and inviting as she took Elsa's hands and brought them to the fastenings of her own dress.

A spark of desire lit up Elsa's eyes and she undid each clasp of Anna's dress, letting the white fabric pool around her waist. She peeled off the chemise that Anna was wearing underneath, lifting it over her head and discarding it so Anna's topless form was displayed to her.

Elsa took in the beauty of her wife; Anna's freckled breasts looked soft and Elsa wanted to touch them, but what also caught her attention were the marks of battle on her body.

"You have so many scars," she said and traced her warm, soft fingertips over a long scar on Anna's side that looked as if it had been made by a slash from a sword, and a smaller one on the top of her hip that Elsa guessed had come from a spearhead or an arrow.

She looked at Anna, marvelling at her resilience, her strength and her beauty. Elsa was overcome by the sudden sense of how precious Anna was to her, though she could not have explained where the feeling came from. "I can't believe anyone would want to hurt you," Elsa said, taking her wife's hands in her own. "I won't let anyone hurt you again, Anna."

"Well, I think I deserved some of these scars," Anna said, grinning a little at the memories. "There's a story behind each one, and plenty of time for me to tell them all." She pulled Elsa close, kissing her worried face until she smiled.

Elsa stroked the arms that held her, feeling the muscles on them both; she had seen that Anna used each of her arms equally when fighting. They were strong, but slender and feminine, too, just like the rest of Anna. Elsa passed her hands over her freckled shoulders; Anna's skin was another feature that Elsa adored. She never tanned in the sun herself, only burned and remained as pale as she always had been, and the marks that the sunlight had left on Anna's skin made them different, and made Elsa love her even more.

Elsa lowered her eyes and her hands to Anna's breasts, cupping the flesh, that was soft and firm at the same time, and feeling desire stir in her stomach as she did so. She felt closer to Anna than she had ever been, and knew she could get even closer.

"You're beautiful," Elsa said, and kissed Anna's lips before she could reply, pushing her with gentle confidence onto the pillows at the head of their bed. She lowered her hands even more to take off Anna's final item of clothing and pull her dress away from her legs, leaving the one she loved naked as she had been herself on the day they met.

Anna could tell that the sight of her fully naked form had aroused Elsa's desire, Anna could see her nipples outlined beneath the fabric of her dress, and she had a hunger in her deep blue eyes.

Elsa pressed her hand against Anna's womanhood, feeling warmth and a slight dampness on her coppery hair. The sensation was so good that Elsa felt wetness between her own thighs, too, and a thrill of satisfaction knowing how much Anna wanted her.

She rubbed two of her fingers up the length of Anna's slit, circling the sensitive nub at the top. Ragged moans passed her lips and Anna closed her eyes in pleasure as she felt warmth radiate around her body and the pressure of desire begin to build within her. When Elsa clutched her hand, she squeezed it tightly, wanting to connect as much as they physically could.

Elsa slowly eased a finger into her, and a second soon after. Her fingers were slender and skilled and her touch was gentle, firing waves of pleasure inside her when she found the right spot, but Anna needed more than gentle. Even though Elsa and everything about her was perfect, just one small thing was preventing her from opening the door to bliss.

"Elsa, I need you to go faster...!" she said, between panting breaths.

Elsa quickened the pace of her fingers, stroking harder inside her centre, pressing more passionately against her pleasure point, learning every hidden surface of her sex, desperate to give Anna just what she needed.

She felt heat rise all around her and was unable to stop cries of ecstasy escaping her mouth. Elsa kissed her neck and Anna ran her fingers through her smooth blonde hair, trying not to grip with the ever-increasing pressure inside her, so she lowered them to grip the fabric of Elsa's dress instead.

The pressure was released with Elsa's touch and took hold of Anna, her back arched as she tensed and clung to Elsa while pleasure consumed her and made her body shudder from head to toe before she collapsed back onto the pillows.

Elsa lay next to her and held her hand, proud that she had brought her demigoddess lover to such a state of bliss.

Anna soon got her breath back and rolled onto her side to face Elsa, who thought it wasn't possible for someone to look as beautiful as Anna did at that moment. She laid one hand on her waist, accentuating her curves. Her freckled body was still flushed, her blue-green eyes still desirous.

"Elsa, that was amazing," she purred. "Are you still feeling shy?" She removed her hand from her own body and reached out to Elsa, running her hand along the curves of Elsa's waist and hip, still hidden by her dress.

Elsa shivered with the warmth of Anna's palm and the tenderness of her touch. "Not anymore." Elsa grinned as she sat up to take off her dress and underwear; a blush of desire coloured her cheeks and the top of her bosom.

Anna came to her and kissed her, pressing their soft bare breasts together and stroking Elsa's naked back.

"I've wanted to do this since I first saw you," Anna whispered. "You're so beautiful, Elsa." She kissed Elsa's mouth, before tracing a trail of adoration with her lips, kissing across her jaw and her neck, while guiding her wife down to lie beneath her, then she pressed her thigh between Elsa's legs. The blonde gasped and thrust against Anna's thigh, letting her feel her heat and her wetness.

"Anna!" Elsa breathed and reached up with both her hands to stroke her face as Anna looked into her eyes. She owed Anna so much, her whole life... Even the words she was going to say seemed inadequate compared to Elsa's feelings for Anna. "I love you!"

"I love you, too," Anna replied, gazing at her for a moment and seeing pure love in Elsa's eyes, her soul burning so brightly inside her that Anna had to express her feelings with her actions, since words weren't enough.

She leaned in to kiss Elsa's lips once more before bringing her hot mouth to Elsa's nipple, caressing the soft, white flesh of her breasts with her fingers while she sucked for a moment, then turned her attention to the nipple on her other breast.

Elsa felt her tender flesh stiffen with the touch of Anna's tongue and fingertips, she had never experienced anything so wonderful, though Elsa's sense of pleasure only increased when Anna moved lower. She pressed wet kisses down Elsa's stomach until she settled between her thighs, encouraging her to spread them with a gentle touch of her hands.

Then Anna did something Elsa was not expecting and licked her womanhood, but it felt better than her own fingers ever had; the warmth and wetness of Anna's tongue within her folds was simply amazing.

Anna licked slowly and rhythmically up her sex while Elsa heard cries of pleasure come from her own lips, growing louder and louder as Anna kept caressing the wetness of her folds with her tongue. She clamped her lips over the most sensitive part of Elsa's body and suckled on the hardened little bud, intensifying Elsa's ecstasy when she used her fingers, too, and slid two of them into her wet centre.

Elsa felt Anna's touch inside and outside on her most intimate places, and could feel her love with every movement. She gave herself totally to Anna, body and soul, conscious only of her touch; Elsa gripped Anna's fingers when she raised her free hand to hold hers.

The energy and sensations built up so much, stimulated by the love they both shared, until Elsa thought she couldn't cope anymore, the intensity of the feelings possessed her completely. But then everything imploded and it felt to Elsa as if she had been sucked into another realm of pure ecstasy, aware only of Anna all around her, giving her love, a love burning so bright that it blocked out all other thoughts and sensations.

Elsa had pleasured herself before, but nothing she had done ever felt so completely and utterly glorious; the climax Anna had brought her to left Elsa limp and panting on the pillows.

Anna lay beside her and slowly stroked strands of sweat-dampened blonde hair from her forehead.

"Anna..." was all Elsa could utter as she stared in wonder at her smiling freckled face.

"Elsa," Anna replied. "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

"You saved me," Elsa murmured, caressing her cheek.

" _You_  saved  _me_ , Elsa!" Anna said, and kissed her lips. Anna realised now that she had been waiting for Elsa her whole life without knowing it, and was now ready to spend the rest of her days and nights with her beautiful wife, feeling complete at last.

After their wedding night, new stars were discovered in the night sky, and named after the two Queens in their honour.

They lived long and happy lives together, but because Anna and Elsa had been set amongst the stars and constellations, as long as people walked the earth and searched the night sky in wonder, they would remember the strength of Anna's valour, the power of Elsa's beauty and the legend of Elsa and Anna's love forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The sea monster in the original tale of Perseus and Andromeda is not the kraken because the kraken is a Norwegian myth, but I was slightly influenced by the 1981 film Clash of the Titans (whatever you do, NEVER watch the 2010 remake. Honestly the worst film I've ever seen).


	13. Daphnis

Some say the ways of love are innate, that the knowledge of how to join in passion with another will come from within when two entwined souls meet in the flesh, urged on by instinct and fate to reach that ultimate place of pleasure. But this is not always the case. Sometimes the ways of love have to be learned. And although it is correct that the course of True Love never did run smooth, for those with pure hearts, and with a little Divine assistance, it will run as smoothly as it can.

Most folk know that the gods and goddesses are closer in the countryside than in cities, and this was certainly true for the land of Arendelle. Beyond the city there was a wealthy man's estate, second in size only to that belonging to the King himself. The estate extended from the fjord to the edges of the mountains, and in between it was full of pastures, rivers and forests.

Interspersed around the land were ancient shrines to the local nymphs and nature spirits, lovingly tended by the few peasants whom the owner had hired to work the estate. They gave small offerings to the goddesses whenever they passed, even things as simple as a single apple or a bunch of flowers laid at the statues' bare feet for the beautiful nymphs who lived in the land surrounding Arendelle, three women with flowing hair and smiling faces.

At a time when the land was at its poorest, at the end of a year with few yields, during the winter when the world was bleak and cold, one of the shrines seemed to give a gift back.

Olaf tended one of the only flocks of sheep the estate owned and when the heavy snow started to fall, he began to gather up the ewes and their new winter lambs to bring them into barns and keep them safe until the spring.

He was watching the animals while his dog rounded up the sheep to drive them to their new home in the farmyard, when Olaf spotted a tiny lamb by itself. The shepherd kept an eye on the little creature, suspecting its mother was around somewhere, and he was right. The ewe returned, but kept deserting its offspring to enter the shrine in a cave nearby. Wondering what could possibly entice the animal inside, Olaf slowly followed the sheep into the cave the next time it went.

It was dark within, and cold, though still warmer than the grassland outside. The stream that flowed through the cave from deep underground was frozen around the edges, letting only a small amount of water through, the sound softly echoing around the cavern and mingling with the light noise of icicles dripping as they melted, icicles hanging from the cave's roof and the statues of the nymphs that stood in stately stillness. Shafts of light shining in from the gaps in the rocky ceiling were caught by these icy formations, making the place look more eerily sacred than usual.

Olaf saw the sheep he had sought, though there appeared to be a bundle underneath her. Looking closer he could see that it was a baby, a human baby, feeding from the sheep's udders. Olaf had never seen a sight like it before in his entire life as a shepherd. He stood there stunned, staring at the sheep and the baby in their strange companionship until his brain began working again.

It was sadly not uncommon to find abandoned babies in the wilderness, their poor souls exposed because their parents could not afford to keep them, but it was unusual to see one so richly-dressed. Olaf saw that this baby had been wrapped in a thick purple blanket, which must have been why it had survived in the cold weather, along with the warmth and milk from the sheep's body.

He sensed that more than chance had saved this baby from the elements, though when he looked up at the faces of the nymph statues, their stone smiles betrayed nothing of their Divine plans, as Olaf had known they wouldn't.

The shepherd gently lifted the baby from the floor, glad that doing so had not made it cry, but he soon noticed something small lying on the stone where the blanket had been. Holding the tiny human bundle carefully and closely, Olaf bent down to pick the object up and discovered that it was a ring, pure gold by the look of it, and heavier than most because there was a large blue jewel embedded into the metal. The sapphire matched the colour of the baby's eyes when Olaf glanced down at the little face peeking out from within the blanket and saw two blue eyes looking into his own and right into Olaf's kind heart.

He kept the token, suspecting correctly that the baby was of noble birth and knowing that the ring would be useful in the future, though not for himself, since Olaf had decided to save the infant from its fate. The shepherd brought the baby and the sheep out of the sacred cave and back to his home.

Olaf lived alone and was now too old to get married or father a child himself; his was an isolated life, but a wholesome one, and he began to raise the baby as if she were his own daughter, with help from the memories of caring for his little brothers in his youth, and the sheep who nursed her alongside its own lamb. Olaf named her Elsa, which was the most beautiful name he knew, somehow fresh and bright like the Midwinter sun on the day he had found her. So she flourished in health and happiness, with guidance from the world around and from her adopted father.

In that same shrine, around three years later, another surprise was left for an unsuspecting shepherd to discover.

It was Midsummer, and a married couple, no longer young, were driving their small herd of sheep across the valley up to the estate's richest pastures.

Kai was following behind the flock, ensuring that none of them were left behind, when the sound of a sheep reached his ears, followed by another cry - though not like that of a lamb - coming from inside the cave.

He went to investigate while Gerda, his wife, waited. Not long later she saw her husband return with a grin on his face and a bundle of blankets in his arms, leading a sheep behind him.

"I found the sheep feeding her," Kai explained, looking at Gerda with an expression in his eyes as if all his birthdays had come at once. "It's our chance to be parents!"

He and Gerda had no children, but had desperately prayed and wished for years, and now it seemed that those prayers had finally been answered. He carefully handed the baby to Gerda.

When she felt the warmth of the tiny life in her arms, Gerda did not know how anyone could have let her go. "Look at this brooch," she said, pointing to an ornament of gold and blue jewels that was pinned to the blanket. "Her real parents must be rich."

Gerda and Kai both felt as if it was now their duty to take care of the infant, so they returned home with an unexpected gift; the greatest gift of all, a daughter to look after and teach and love.

The couple had always said that if they had a daughter of their own they would have called her Anna, since it was a name that had been in Gerda's family for generations. So they gave this name to their new daughter, even though she shared no bond of blood with them, but this did not mean they loved her any less.

Kai and Gerda did not know Olaf, who lived on the other side of the estate, so none of them were aware of the similar events surrounding the girls' infancies; they would have known their survival was more than mere coincidence if they had that knowledge.

The shepherds continued their quiet lives, though each was more joyful than before now they had daughters to share them with.

Elsa and Anna were raised well, and given more care than most other peasant children in the land due to their secret origins. Each of their adopted parents taught them good manners and how to read, even if they had no prospects beyond herding sheep. Yet they remained ignorant of each other's existence.

The girls grew in height and strength, in beauty and intelligence, and the land's prosperity grew with them. The owner became rich once again and purchased more sheep to graze on the green swards until their white coats dotted the hillsides. Naturally, more sheep meant more shepherds were needed to take care of them and soon Kai and Gerda had acquired a new flock for Anna to manage, deciding that, at the age of sixteen, she was ready for that responsibility.

Anna was excited, she had helped her parents before but this would be the first time she'd be in charge of a whole herd by herself. She had been told of her infancy and the sheep that had fed her as a baby, as had Elsa. Both of their adopted parents had seen no sense in lying; each family shared strong bonds of trust and love, and each girl felt the need to look after the sheep as a sheep had once looked after her, feeling indebted. Both Anna and Elsa were kind and good towards the animals and the herds flourished under their care.

By the time Anna had just begun her life as a shepherd of her own flock, Elsa had been herding her own for a few years - having shared all of Olaf's knowledge about the ways of the land and the animals - and was out watching over them, up in the pasturelands where the richest grass grew and where her life and Anna's would begin to converge.

Anna led her sheep to the best grazing place she knew, pleased that she had not lost any when they arrived. She stopped to count them once again, just to make sure, but Anna was confused when there seemed to be more that she remembered. Though this was better than having less, she knew it was not right and raised her eyes to see another herd of sheep mingling with hers and a blonde shepherdess amidst them.

The other girl turned and locked her blue gaze onto Anna's own and something stirred within her, something Anna had never felt before. What she was feeling was love, which strikes through the heart when it's least expected, but she did not know it for love, just a tugging in her chest that Anna explained to herself as shock or panic.

Taking in the blonde's appearance, Anna saw that they both wore plain dresses of roughspun wool that ended below the knee, and the other girl's hair was also braided, only in a single braid, whereas Anna wore her red tresses in twin braids on both her shoulders; somehow she felt that feature connected them and was inspired to speak.

"I'm sorry," Anna said, unable to read the expression in the woman's eyes and lowering her own. "I'll move my sheep, yours were here first."

"There's no need," she replied, kindly. "There's enough grass here for them all."

"But how will we separate them?" Anna asked, more to herself than the other girl, yet the answer she received put her thoughts at ease.

"I know all of mine like old friends. And they'll follow me when I play my pipe. Watch this!" To demonstrate, she wandered further away, drawing Anna's eyes to the movement of her hips when she walked, and the long blonde braid swaying against her back. She pulled a small wooden pipe from her pocket and played a few notes on it, which made some of the sheep turn their heads, then begin to move towards her, splitting the herd in two when they followed.

Anna followed, too, smiling at the other woman's skill. "I've never trained a sheep before," she said in admiration. "You're very talented!"

"The sheep seem to like me," came the reply; she had a voice more melodious than any music Anna had ever heard. "My father found a ewe nursing me when I was a baby, and I've lived around them ever since."

Anna's eyes widened and her mouth hung open for a second when she heard something from her own life spoken by this fair stranger. "Me too!" Anna exclaimed, when she found her words again. "It's destiny; we're meant to be friends!"

"I hope so," the blonde said, smiling at Anna with a spark of something in her eyes.

And Anna was almost right. She and Elsa were destined to be much more than just friends, with an even closer bond that began on the day they met and became stronger with every smile and glance that they shared.

Elsa and Anna learned all about each other, from simple facts like their names and ages, to their innermost thoughts. Though neither recognised their bond as anything beyond friendship in those early days, it would have been clear to any observer that they were both totally smitten. But there was never anyone to see them; it was almost as if Anna and Elsa were the only people in the whole world when they spent their days in those green glades that the sheep liked the most. The girls liked that land the most, too, since it contained the shrine where they knew they had both been saved as babies.

They saw each other every morning when their paths crossed at the start of their shepherd duties and did not part until nightfall, which came later each day as summer approached. Elsa and Anna did everything together, each looking after the other's flocks so much that they almost became one huge herd. Elsa helped Anna to take care of the animals, sharing her experience with the younger girl and enjoying every moment of her company, more than Elsa had enjoyed any sort of companionship before.

Soon, as the weeks went by, the sheep were more likely to be separated from their flock than Anna and Elsa from each other. And they became closer still one day in early summer.

Anna was having trouble with the young lambs who kept escaping her sight and getting into all sorts of dangers. She followed the frantic bleats of one mother sheep to see that its lamb had got itself stuck in the mud on the top of a steep hill, separated from the ewe by stones and slopes so sheer that Anna didn't know how the baby sheep had managed to climb up there.

She was no more sure-footed than most girls her age, and she was not nearly so nimble as a lamb, so when Anna went to rescue the animal she found herself falling onto her back or onto her face countless times, her feet slipping in the thick mud. The third time Anna found herself rolling down the hillside she almost gave up, but she kept persisting; Anna knew the effort was worth it to rescue the lamb, since every single one mattered to her, and it was a target for eagles up on the top of the hill, its white wool standing out against the brown ground.

At last, Anna reached the sheep and freed it from the mud before carrying it carefully back down, almost sliding rather than walking on the return journey, until she had led the lamb to its mother, who licked it clean after it had struggled free from Anna's arms and wandered towards the ewe. She watched the animals fondly before guiding them back to join the rest of the flock.

Elsa stood with her sheep in the field where Anna had left her own and was watching over both of their herds, but she jumped in surprised when she turned to see Anna - who was more muddy than she realised - walking towards her. "Is that you, Anna?" she asked, though she already knew the answer, since Elsa would have recognised Anna's blue-green eyes anywhere.

Anna looked down at her limbs, which were covered in dirt. "Yeah," she said, grinning. "I just fell down a hill, that's all!"

"Are you hurt?" Elsa asked, with concern. She placed a hand on Anna's arm, getting mud on herself but caring only about the younger girl.

"No, I'm fine! You don't have to worry, Elsa," she reassured her, though Elsa worried anyway. She checked Anna all over and thankfully found no sign of wounds, no trace of blood, but there was mud everywhere, in Anna's hair, on her face and the rest of her body.

Anna decided to bathe in the river than flowed near the nymphs' cave, and Elsa followed her, leaving the sheep to their own devices since helping Anna to clean herself was more important; they didn't want her parents to worry or be angry with her.

Elsa watched while Anna pulled off her sleeveless tunic and her breeches, spreading them out to dry in the sun so she could shake the worst of the mud off them later, then she took off her underwear and lowered herself into the water.

The blonde sat on the bank behind her and helped Anna to wash her back, stroking her wet skin to get the mud off where it had dripped underneath her clothes. She rubbed Anna's shoulders to remove what she thought was more dirt at first, but when Elsa looked closer she saw that Anna's skin was freckled like a bird's egg, very different to her own pale body. She had never seen anything quite so unique; the only freckles Elsa possessed were on her nose and so faint compared to Anna's.

Once she had satisfied herself enough to tear her eyes away from the wonder of Anna's freckles, Elsa loosened the other girl's hair from her braids and gently combed through the tresses with her slender fingers until Anna's hair was clean again and its natural colour, as red as flames.

It occurred to Elsa that Anna was beautiful, but she had never considered her in that way before. Yet now when she looked at Anna's curves, the colour of her hair and skin, something stirred within Elsa and the desire to touch Anna again overcame her, so she stroked the redhead's shoulders once more. Elsa raised her other hand and brought it to her own skin out of curiosity to feel the difference between them, wondering if that was what made Anna more beautiful. The difference was subtle, but Elsa thought Anna's skin was softer than hers, though she knew that she had not even begun to understand why Anna suddenly fascinated her so much.

Anna sighed with the touch of her hand and thanked Elsa for helping her. Elsa did not reply and could not comprehend why, but she had set her heart on seeing Anna bathe again.

The next day, Elsa spent more time looking at Anna than at her flock of sheep. She tried to hide her glances but Anna soon caught her staring.

"Is there something on my face?" Anna asked.

"Yes..." Elsa lied, though when she heard Anna's next words, all traces of guilt were gone.

"I'll have to bathe again," she said. "But at least the weather's warm... Will you come with me?"

"Of course!" Elsa replied as her heart leapt and kept beating loudly while she followed Anna and watched her throw off her clothes and jump in the river.

When she surfaced Anna swam to the bank and scrubbed her face with her hands to clean away the dirt that wasn't there. Yet Elsa did not feel ashamed for telling a lie because it meant she could sit on the riverbank behind Anna and look at her freckled shoulders again.

The only sounds around them were the gentle rush of the river and her own heartbeat thudding in her ears while Elsa traced her eyes over the back of Anna's neck and watched as water droplets trickled down between her shoulder blades. Wisps of wet red hair freed from her braids clung to Anna's skin; Elsa wanted to be like those fine strands, pressed against Anna's freckles. So, after looking, she touched. Elsa was ready for Anna to flinch when she gently placed her hands on her back, but Anna didn't seem to mind and leaned into Elsa's touch. Her skin felt so soft on her fingers, and Elsa wondered how it would feel on her lips, wanted to know the scent of her... She began to lean in to discover these things for herself, but Anna left the water, leaving Elsa sitting on the bank, watching her dress.

Anna's body was still wet so Elsa could see her breasts and nipples defined clearly beneath the dampened fabric, stirring something within Elsa again, only lower than the sensations she had felt before. She took in the whole of Anna's form, from her bare feet on the grass to her greenish-blue eyes looking into Elsa's own. She decided to leave Anna alone and go back to the sheep, the simple task of watching them would not provoke the confusion of feelings that Anna had inspired in her. Elsa stood up to walk away, though only after she had left her with a compliment. "You look beautiful," she said, and those little words of praise were the beginning of love.

No one has escaped love or ever will, so long as beauty exists and eyes can see, but the name for the emotions she was feeling eluded Elsa for a long time. She didn't know what was wrong with herself; being young and rurally-raised, Elsa had never even heard of love, but she knew something had changed, that she was definitely not well. She prayed to the nymphs in their shrine for an explanation, though Elsa received no answers from the goddesses just yet, and no relief from them.

A vague feeling of unease had possessed her, and Elsa's eyes developed a will of their own, constantly gravitating towards Anna and her body, remembering what she looked like naked. In her mind's eye while she looked at her, Elsa would peel off Anna's clothes and touch her soft skin all over, though she attempted nothing in reality, not truly knowing what it was she wanted to do.

Anna was beautiful but so were flowers, and so was birdsong, yet Elsa cared nothing for them anymore; she only knew she wanted to spend every moment with her red-headed friend.

Elsa had never thought such things about anyone before, she had met other girls in the past and liked them well enough, but that had been nothing compared to what she felt for Anna.

She no longer had any desire for food or sleep, Elsa was restless, sleepless because of Anna who was always in her thoughts, causing a swirl of emotions inside Elsa as she tried to find the name of love. But Elsa did not understand, so she concealed her feelings and acted as normal.

Though she was not the only one to feel passion that summer. Kai had hired a team of horses to help him complete some tasks around the farm, and with them had come Hans, who had been sent to care for the animals and return them to their owner once their work was done.

As soon as Hans set eyes on Anna he knew he wanted her, though his passion was purely of the flesh. Yet he could never get Anna alone to try and woo her, since she was always with Elsa.

Hans despised Elsa, but he saw how close they were - like one unit already, even in this early stage of their love - and knew that the only way to befriend Anna was to befriend Elsa, too.

It was difficult for Hans to break into their private world, but he tried to do so by giving presents to both girls, food and flowers, interesting things he had brought with him from the city.

Soon they thought of Hans as a friend, until he began to ignore Elsa and turned his attentions only to Anna. He brought Anna gifts every day, each better than the ones before.

Anna had never encountered a lover's wiles before, so she accepted his presents gladly, not knowing that Hans was expecting something from her in return. He gave her flowers, fresh bread and cheese, wine from the city and a horsehair flywhisk he had made himself, and Anna liked them all because it meant that every day she had something to give to Elsa when they were alone again. The girls shared the gifts with each other and forgot about Hans whenever he wasn't around. It thrilled Anna to see Elsa's reactions to even the simplest thing she gave her, since Elsa cherished anything that Anna had touched, though she still hid her confused desires inside herself.

But the time had come when Anna, too, was destined to be acquainted with the feelings of love. It happened in the middle of summer, just after Kai and Gerda had celebrated Anna's seventeenth birthday, on the anniversary of the day they had found her, since they did not know the actual date.

The sun and the energy of every living thing were at their highest, stirring feelings in even the coldest hearts, but especially in the young, and for Hans, Anna and Elsa, this culminated in a contest.

It was Hans' idea. He would be leaving Kai and Gerda's farm the next day, and he wanted a good memory of this place. He made the suggestion confident that he would win, and under the assumption that Anna preferred men to women, that it was only a matter of time before she succumbed to his charms, but the whole scheme proved to be Hans' own downfall.

"Let's have a contest, me versus Elsa," Hans said, as the three of them stood together in the field. "Anna, you can be the judge. You have to decide which of us is the best, and as a prize, the winner gets to kiss you."

After the girls had agreed to this strange but novel suggestion, Hans tried to persuade Anna that he was the one worthy of kissing her. "I'm taller and stronger than she is," he said. "You'll never meet anyone with sideburns as magnificent as mine, everyone back in the city says how handsome I am. But Elsa only has sheep for company here in the countryside, she's probably never been to the city and never will because she's only a shepherd. With my job I earn enough money to buy everything I want and I get to travel all over the place with the horses. It's obvious I'm much better than Elsa, so you should choose me!"

Then it was Elsa's turn. "Anna, I'm the perfect height for you," she said. "If you kiss me, you'll only have to tilt your head just a little. And my skin is smooth, but if you choose Hans his stubble and sideburns will scratch your face, and he smells horrible because he spends all day with horses. But I don't, because I'm a shepherd, the same as you. We were both fed by sheep when we were young; that connects us, Anna, and you share nothing in common with Hans, remember that."

Anna was stunned by Elsa's eloquent speech. She had never seen a noblewoman or a princess before, but she imagined that one would look just like Elsa did at that moment, standing tall and fair, fixing Anna with her deep blue gaze. "Elsa wins, Elsa is the best!" Anna announced when she had found her words again.

Elsa stepped closer to claim her prize and pressed her lips to Anna's. She held them there for a few seconds, enough to breathe the other girl's sweet scent, they were so close; it made Elsa's heart jump and the whole world seem to spin, even though she was standing still. Elsa's kiss was clumsy and quick, but it was enough to set both their hearts on fire.

Hans was mortified and turned to run away as fast as his legs would carry him; the power of their love caused Hans to question everything he had ever learned about relationships and scared him to his very soul, since he knew that he would never experience anything close to what he had witnessed between those two girls.

Elsa and Anna, meanwhile, had forgotten all about Hans; they never saw him after that day, and he never troubled their thoughts again, since they had many more important things to fill their minds.

Anna shivered when their lips parted, and her heart thumped so loudly she swore it must have echoed all around the glade. She wanted to look at Elsa, but whenever she did, Anna blushed all over and could not stop her heart fluttering. For the first time, she noticed and admired Elsa's hair, it was so light it made everything around look dull, and Elsa's eyes... They were even bluer than the fjord on a bright summer's day; when Anna looked at her now, she felt as if she had been blind all her life before.

She felt the same symptoms as Elsa, but like her, did not confide in anyone, since she did not understand.

It was like no sickness Anna had ever suffered from before, so she was not convinced that she was ill, though Anna was not her usual self.

When she was not with Elsa, Anna chattered incessantly about her to anyone around, more than ever. By turns she was as pale and listless as withered grass, then flushed fiery red and was filled with energy, and all the time, Anna could not stop her thoughts and heart from racing. She could not sleep, all food seemed tasteless to Anna after she had tasted Elsa's lips.

She was in pain, but had no wound; Anna had often been cut or stung in the past yet they had never troubled her so much. This feeling hurt Anna's heart sharper than anything, even though it all started after Elsa had kissed her, and her lips had been softer than rose petals and sweeter than honey.

Questions filled her mind and Anna had no way to get the answers. What had Elsa's kiss done to her? Anna had kissed her parents before, and the cute little lambs she helped to raise, but Elsa's kiss had been something magical. Did Elsa have powers? Anna was sure she would have found out before now...

Anna's breath kept deserting her whenever she saw Elsa again after they had been parted, her heart leapt and shivers travelled up and down her body, and she longed to share a kiss with Elsa again.

Elsa longed for the exact same thing, but shyness stopped her from pursuing it. Neither she nor Anna knew what they truly wanted, just that being together seemed to ease it, and that Anna's bathing and Elsa's kiss seemed to be the causes.

But they kept it all a secret, from their families and from each other. Though their parents each noticed their daughter had changed. When queried, Anna and Elsa dismissed their concerns, so their parents simply went on with their busy lives. Yet ignoring the feelings did not make them lessen.

Their flames were fanned by the season burning brightly all around. It was now the height of summer; since, as in a day, the hottest time comes after the zenith. The days were cloudless and warm, and it seemed as if the sun was making people undress to spy on their beauty, but there was spying done down on earth, too.

Anna wore a loose, sleeveless dress, as she had done every day since this hot weather began, inviting new freckles to blossom on her arms. She still felt the heat, though, and wandered towards the river to drink from the cool, running water. Anna cupped her hands and brought the clear water to her lips. When she lifted her eyes a few moments later, the sight she saw made her heart melt within her and feel as liquid as the water dripping through her fingers.

Elsa raised her head from the rippling surface of the river, standing to reveal her glorious unclothed body to the world. The season's heat bothered her, and swimming naked in the river was the best way Elsa had found to cool down. It was also immensely liberating, feeling nothing but the sensation of the water against her skin; the freedom helped to calm Elsa's thoughts, which had been a swirling storm of confusion since she had been struck with love for Anna. Though Elsa did not know just yet that she had company, that the cause of her feelings was standing only a little way behind her.

Anna was overpowered by her beauty and couldn't tear her eyes away from the exquisite form of her friend; her slender waist, the sensual curves of her backside, her slender arms and shapely legs that looked so soft... Elsa's beauty was breathtaking and Anna felt faint at the impossibility of finding fault with any part. Every part of her was perfection, Elsa was  _too_  beautiful, if such a thing were possible. The beauty that had always been concealed to Anna's eyes before was now revealed, and her heart ached at the sight of it.

Elsa turned towards her, wading back to the shallows. Anna knew she had been in the sun throughout the summer, as she had herself, yet Elsa's skin was as pale as fresh milk apart from a few faint freckles on her nose and cheeks, only visible if one looked closely, as Anna continued to do.

Elsa raised her eyes to the riverbank and felt a shy smile rise to her lips, a blush spread across her face. Anna was watching her with her mouth open and her teal eyes wide, looking at her so intensely that Elsa could almost feel the force of her gaze on her naked skin, and it sent a shiver down her spine. Elsa lowered her own eyes, but realised that they were even now, after all those times she had watched Anna bathing. Elsa hoped she would discard her own clothes and come and join her in the water, though she did not know what they would do together.

The spell over Anna broke with their gazes and she became aware again of the world around her, not just the stunning beauty of Elsa's blue eyes and snow-white naked skin. She spotted Elsa's clothes on the bank by her feet and picked up a blouse; just a simple garment, but it always looked wonderful on Elsa. Anna found herself feeling jealous of a mere item of clothing, since it got to touch Elsa all day.

"Do you think I'll be beautiful like you if I wear your clothes?" Anna asked, and put the blouse on over her own dress, giggling as she did so.

"You're already beautiful, Anna." Elsa left the river, slowly, gracefully, like a vision in a dream. Droplets ran off her skin and down her body, round the contours of her breasts, some clinging to her like little jewels, some dripping from the tip of her braid and the patch of hair between her thighs, which looked dark gold from the water.

She smiled, holding her hand out for her clothes, and watched Anna lift the rest of her garments from the ground, but the redhead paused. "Anna?" Elsa asked in confusion. "Can I have my clothes, please?"

"You'll have to catch me!" Anna said, with a glint in her eyes before she dashed away across the glade.

"Anna!" Elsa called, laughing lightly while she darted after the younger girl.

Anna turned back to watch Elsa's breasts bounce with the rhythm of her running, she was coming closer quickly on her long legs. She slowed her pace deliberately, and soon Anna got what she had wanted. Elsa wrapped her arms around Anna's waist and pressed her naked breasts against her back. Anna could feel the other girl's stiff nipples through the fabric of her own clothes but only briefly, Elsa soon let her go.

Anna turned to her and thought about taking her by surprise, digging her fingers into her sides where Anna knew Elsa was the most ticklish, since she had no clothes to cover her. But she decided not to and gave Elsa her clothes back, taking off the blouse and returning it - now warmed from her own body - before anyone else could come near; Anna wanted to be the only one to see Elsa naked.

With the sounds of the river behind them, and the birds and breeze in the trees overhead, Anna watched Elsa dress herself, concealing her naked beauty from the world again. Anna's eyes didn't leave her while she adjusted her clothes and loosened her damp hair from its braid to dry.

Elsa's eyes met hers when she had done, and together they checked on their sheep, which was the real reason they were out here in the pasturelands, although to Anna and Elsa, spending time with each other had now become more important, yet they never ceased to care for their animals.

Then, as the sheep were doing at that moment, the two girls found the shade of a large, magnificent tree in which to pass the hottest part of the day. Elsa and Anna leaned their backs against the trunk and rested in contented silence.

Anna sighed and looked up into the green leaves above while idly plucking blades of grass that grew around her. All the confusing changes that had taken place since the year began passed through her mind and she realised that right now, she felt content. Anna's thoughts weren't racing and she wasn't restless; her symptoms had ceased now Elsa was by her side, except, of course, for Anna's desire to be close to her; Anna didn't exactly know how, just that she wanted to be  _closer_  to Elsa, as close as two people could be.

Elsa's eyes were shut when Anna turned to her and her long blonde lashes cast faint shadows on her cheeks, but Anna knew Elsa wasn't asleep; her elegant hands that rested on her stomach rose and fell with her breaths no more deeply than usual.

Giving in to an unexplainable impulse, Anna reached towards Elsa and, as slowly and gently as she could, lifted a strand of her light, silky hair that lay on her shoulder and began to braid it with her own loose tresses. Vivid red and lightest blonde entwined together, forming an inseparable bond; that was what Anna wanted, to be joined to Elsa and never have to part. The joint braid began to taper and soon it was complete. Anna was pleased that she had not disturbed Elsa while making it and left the finished braid lying in the small gap between their shoulders, smiling to herself.

Soon Elsa stirred and opened her eyes, she had rested enough but not managed to sleep, since she was not tired. "Come on," she said to Anna, and moved to get up, though Elsa was forced to sit back down when she felt a tug on her hair coming from next to her. Puzzled, she looked over.

"What's this?" Elsa asked, kindly. With fondness and amusement in her eyes, she touched the braid, lifting it to look closer.

"I joined us together!" Anna announced.

"It's beautiful," she said, stroking the interwoven strands. The colours contrasted and complemented each other; icy blonde and fiery red, elements of their personalities were contained in those colours, and the combination they made was one as beautiful and powerful as the emotions Elsa and Anna felt for one another.

"I wish we didn't have to undo it," said Elsa. "But we can't stay stuck together all day!" She eased a finger though an intersection of the ginger and blonde strands, gently separating them.

"I know you're right," Anna said, though she couldn't stop her smile slightly fading. "But I want to be with you forever." She wanted to be joined to Elsa, not exactly tied together... But just how they could get closer was still a mystery to both girls.

"I want the same," Elsa replied, smiling and lacing Anna's fingers with her own. She felt her smile grow wider and a blush blossom in her cheeks when Anna pressed her lips to one of them, spreading from the spot where Anna kissed her and travelling all over Elsa's body. A jolt of something struck her heart when she saw Anna gazing at her with a smile brighter than the summer sun and more beautiful to Elsa than the source of light above them, though it made her feel just as warm.

With joined hands, they went to watch the sheep again and waited for the sun to set, when they would separate their herds for the night and go their different ways to their homes.

To pass the time, Elsa began to teach Anna how to play the pipe, lending her the instrument and letting her discover how it worked. She learned quickly, but Elsa often took the pipe from the younger girl, pretending to correct her and playing the same note, pressing her mouth to the place where Anna's lips had been a moment before. Elsa felt that she was kissing Anna, though without seeming forceful or risking rejection, and this made her heart beat so loudly it almost drowned out the sound of the music they played.

So they passed the evening in blissful harmony, and the days that followed were ones of equal joy for Elsa and Anna, just the two of them amidst the beautiful countryside of Arendelle, though the nights were long and lonely without each other.

On an afternoon not many days later, another moment came that brought them closer to their destination of love than before, though the two young women were still far from it, since they were not yet even aware that it was love that they both felt.

Elsa played a gentle tune on her pipe under the oak tree where they usually rested. Anna lay beside her, sleeping silently, soothed by Elsa's playing and her presence so close by.

She ceased her music, wondering why Anna had been quiet for so long, since the redhead normally had so much to say. When Elsa saw Anna's eyes closed in slumber, heard the slow rhythm of her breathing, she gazed at the whole of her body. Elsa looked longingly and greedily at every curve and area of bare skin that she could see, since there was nothing to stop her or make her feel guilty.

Elsa stared at Anna all the way from her feet, over her legs and hips and waist, draped in her loose green dress until her freckled skin was revealed again by the low neckline. From where she was sitting, Elsa could see the top of her bosom, though not as much as she would have liked; she remembered the sight of Anna's naked breasts very well from when she had bathed in the river, and Elsa longed to see their beauty again.

Though Elsa looked at Anna's face the most, drinking in her features as if she was parched, and it was easier for her to do so now that Anna's eyes were closed, Elsa couldn't lose herself staring into those blue-green depths as she often did. Instead, she gazed at Anna's ginger eyelashes and the freckles on her face. Elsa looked closer in wonder at all the tiny sun-kissed marks, she began to count them, but soon lost track of how many there were, all forming patterns more beautiful than anything Elsa had ever seen in nature or art.

She kept looking, caressing Anna's features with her eyes, since doing so with her fingers would wake her. Anna's adorable little nose and her pink lips, parted to allow her sweet breath to escape; Elsa could feel the soft blasts of it against her own face when she leaned even closer. Elsa wanted to kiss her, though she did not want Anna to wake or the moment to end just yet, Elsa could gladly have stared at her like that forever.

They were lying so still that a dove flew down and landed close by, beginning to peck at the ground right by Anna. Elsa didn't move but watched the bird, unwittingly intruding on their time together, though it was not long before the dove fluttered away when Anna stirred from her sleep.

Anna awoke and screamed at the unexpected fluttering of wings around her, but she calmed down when she saw Elsa laughing gently at her panic, her elegant hand stifling her giggles. Anna sat up, fidgeting with her dress, a grin rising to her own lips.

Gladly taking an excuse to touch Anna, Elsa reached over to remove the source of her discomfort. She had watched a feather from the dove fall down Anna's dress and between her breasts, so Elsa slowly slid her hand inside after it, warm, feminine flesh briefly surrounding her fingers before she removed the offending item.

She used it to tickle Anna's nose and make her laugh, before tucking it behind her own ear; Elsa's blonde tresses were almost as light as the dove's white feather, but much more beautiful to Anna's eyes.

Then, for the first time, Anna and Elsa bathed together, both silently admiring and comparing each other's beautiful bodies. They swam together under the water, illuminated from the sun above so they could see one another's blurred outline, with their loose hair floating around them in the current before they rose to the surface.

While their flowing hair dried, shining copper and gold in the sun, Elsa and Anna picked bouquets of wildflowers and decided to take them to the cave of the nymphs nearby as offerings of respect and thanks to the goddesses who they knew had watched over them since infancy.

As the two girls admired the arrangements around the statues, naked together in the holy space of the nymphs, Anna and Elsa both thought that this was the happiest they had ever been, though in the backs of their minds and hearts, there was still something missing.

One day, when autumn was beginning to approach, their fun was interrupted by the arrival of an old man who told them he had come from a small valley up in the mountains.

"You can call me Pabbie," he said, taking one of Elsa's and Anna's hands in both of his wrinkled ones. "I'm considered something of a love expert where I come from, and a few nights ago I had a Divine dream telling me to find you, and help you two find what you seek."

Elsa glanced at Anna in confusion, seeing the same expression on her face. "But we're not seeking anything..." she replied.

The old man smiled. "You are, child. I can feel it within you and between you." He looked at both girls in turn. "You have the force of love watching over you!"

Anna shared another puzzled glance with Elsa. "We don't even know what love is," she told the old man.

"Love is a Divine force," said Pabbie. "It's a force that's powerful and strange; young yet old, sweet yet bitter. No one can escape love in its many forms, and I can see it has struck the two of you just as it struck me, long ago... I was once young and in love, and I felt the same as you both do now: I couldn't eat or sleep, my soul ached, my heart throbbed, my body was ice-cold or fiery-hot..." He trailed off with the memories of times long ago.

Elsa and Anna had been listening intently to the old man as he described their own symptoms, and they felt relieved; each had thought she was the only one to feel that way.

"Is there a cure?" Elsa asked.

"No," Pabbie replied. "There is no medicine for love, no spell or magic charm. Only the acts of True Love, kissing, embracing and lying together naked can ease your hearts." He squeezed the maidens' hands before letting them go. "Well, I've done what I came to do, so now I'll be on my way."

Anna and Elsa bade the strange old man farewell and wished him a safe journey, giving him gifts of bread and wine from their own supply as thanks for his advice.

Their minds were gripped; it was the first time either of the girls had heard of love and they discussed it together once they were alone again.

"It makes sense! Everything he said, all those feelings... I've felt every one of them," Anna said, and took Elsa's hands in both of her own. "And I know you feel the same, too, Elsa. You've not been yourself for a while."

Elsa nodded. "We'll have to try doing what he said, the 'acts of True Love...'"

So the next day, Anna and Elsa kissed and embraced as soon as they saw each other. Embracing pushed their breasts together and Elsa was unsure where to place her hands; Anna's back, her hips and her shoulders were all so beautiful and soft that she could not decide.

They did the same when they said goodnight, though this time they hugged more naturally and closely, and they lingered longer. Their kiss was even sweeter when Elsa stroked Anna's cheek and kept her hand there, while Anna's arms encircled Elsa's hips until their lips parted. Even then, they still felt connected, feeling the other's warm, sweet breath on her face.

Though it didn't work, and Elsa and Anna spent another sleepless night longing for each other.

When they met the next day, as soon as their hearts were calmed after the joys of being reunited and the warmth of their kisses and embraces, Anna and Elsa were eager to try the other act of love their strange visitor had mentioned, though he had not given them the full details.

Under the oak tree in their favourite glade, Elsa and Anna bared their beautiful flesh for each other, feeling the other girl's eyes caressing her figure until they were lying side by side on the ground. Neither felt cold, since this was the final hot day before autumn.

Anna didn't feel any different, and she didn't understand how she and Elsa were supposed to change the way they both felt by just lying here; only their arms were touching. "What now?" she asked, turning her face to Elsa's.

"I don't know," she replied, her blue eyes as confused as Anna's own.

"Should we kiss?"

In reply, Elsa leaned over her and quickly brushed their lips together.

Anna reached up, running her hands through Elsa's hair to hold her close and kissed her again, long and sweetly.

The pressing of their lips melded their mouths together until Elsa leaned back from the kiss to embrace Anna as they lay. She was even more unsure of how to position herself than she had been when they were standing, and the sight of Anna naked beneath her made Elsa's stomach do somersaults. She trembled slightly, trying not to put her full weight on the girl lying under her, as she placed a leg in between Anna's and the other to the side of her thigh.

Elsa touched her waist and her hand was warmed by the heat of Anna, warmth that she could see in her eyes and feel on her lips when she kissed her again, lowering herself so that sweet warmth spread all over her body. What made her heart leap the most was knowing that Anna was enjoying this as much as she was, which Elsa could tell from Anna's soft, happy sigh while they entwined, fitting together perfectly.

Elsa felt so warm and the skin of her back was like velvet on Anna's fingertips when she stroked her, holding Elsa close so the soft flesh of her breasts pressed into her own in a sensation that was sublime.

Elsa's thigh pressing on her crotch felt wonderful and heat radiated right through Anna's body. She couldn't help but rub up against Elsa's leg with the rhythm of their kissing and breathing, making her centre tingle. Elsa's sex against her own leg felt good, too; the brush of her hair, her warmth, warmth and...

"Elsa, you're wet..."

She lifted herself from Anna's body and followed the other girl's eyes down to see that her womanhood had left a smear of wetness glistening on Anna's thigh.

"I'm sorry!" Elsa said, blushing scarlet, bringing her hand to her mouth in embarrassment. She looked down at her own thigh and could see a matching damp patch there, and moisture on Anna's coppery hair. "You're wet, too," she said, feeling a little better. Though she did not know it was completely natural, she did not know they were both aroused.

"Never mind," said Anna, blushing herself and only meeting Elsa's eyes a moment later. "Shall we bathe in the river?"

Elsa led the way, holding Anna's hand until they were both wading in the clear water. They felt so hot after their kissing that the coolness of the water was somewhat welcome and helped them both to organise their thoughts again, now that they were not so physically close anymore. The rest of their day went by peacefully, without any further attempts to cure themselves from love's influence, though Anna and Elsa's minds often returned to the feel and the scent of each other's skin now they knew how close they could be.

But it hadn't worked. The two young women faced a restless night again, longing for the kisses and embraces they had enjoyed, or even just the presence of the other girl lying beside her; they had spent the whole day together, so it seemed unnatural to spend the night apart.

Their unclothed embraces that day were the closest they had come to experiencing the acts of love, but they did not try it again, since shyness and a lack of understanding prevented the girls from trying anything more than the brief hugs and kisses they were used to.

Even so, Elsa and Anna were more possessed with love than ever. They longed for each other's touch and as soon as one saw the other, they ran together to meet, smiling and embracing tightly when they did, renewing their connection for another day.

Anna's thoughts were filled with Elsa, and Elsa's thoughts were full of Anna, all day and all night. They often wondered how it was possible to get so lost in another person, though it was not like being lost at all, it was like finding the place where one belonged, it was like coming home.

Their passion burned fiercely but had no outlet, so soon it found another way for their love to be expressed, in words rather than deeds.

Anna stood with Elsa in the shrine, arranging the final flowers of the year around the statues of the nymphs. She found herself considering the permanence of the stone compared to the temporary flowers; both were beautiful, but each remained for such different times. Anna hoped more than anything that the beauty of being with Elsa would last forever, not wither away, since she knew she couldn't stand the thought of being parted.

"Elsa, do you promise you'll never leave me?" Anna asked, turning to Elsa with a serious expression on her face, and her eyes seeming to glow with a fire both green and blue in the flickering light of the cave.

"Of course I promise, Anna," she replied. "I want to be with you forever."

Though she trusted Elsa intrinsically, Anna wanted proof and to hear her melodious voice swear a solemn oath. "Swear it by the nymphs," Anna insisted. "So I know you mean it. I will, too." Anna placed her hand on a statue's foot. "By the nymphs who saved me, I swear that we'll never spend a day apart. Now you, Elsa!"

She placed a pale hand on top of Anna's. "By the nymphs who saved me," Elsa repeated. "I swear that we'll always be together, you and me, forever." She sealed her vow by giving Anna a honey-sweet kiss and they both left the shrine with smiles on their lips and a warmth in their hearts now that they knew their loyalty to each other was so strong.

Autumn came, changing the leaves of the trees from green to red, a colour that Elsa preferred because it reminded her of Anna's hair.

They were driving the sheep to a new pasture across the estate one afternoon when Anna spotted an apple tree. It had been stripped of all its fruit and leaves except at the top, where a huge apple was still left, ripe and shining, better than a whole tree-full. Perhaps the owner of the tree couldn't climb high enough, perhaps there was a higher power protecting it for a love-struck shepherd girl... Whatever the reason, Anna decided to pluck it, despite Elsa warning her it wasn't safe to climb so high, that it wasn't worth it just for an apple. Anna let go of her hand and jumped to grab hold of a branch, swiftly hauling herself up.

Elsa stood below to catch Anna if she fell, though she seemed to be managing just fine as Elsa watched her, manoeuvring carefully between the thin branches, gripping the bark.

Anna was led on by thoughts of Elsa eating the apple, and tasting it on her kiss afterwards. She reached the top of the tree and placed her fingers round the firm flesh of the fruit, being careful not to bruise it or drop it, since the next hands to hold it would be Elsa's.

In almost no time at all, Anna returned triumphant and jumped off the lowest branch, landing lightly on her feet beside Elsa. She held the apple out to her. "This was saved especially for you; the wind and rain spared it and I'm not going to leave it to fall or be wasted. An apple was the prize the goddess of love accepted for her beauty long ago in the legends, and she had the same judge, since I'm a shepherd. Now I'm giving it to you, because you're beautiful, too, Elsa."

Anna's blue-green eyes were fixed on her own, so intense it made Elsa's heart speed up and her legs feel weak. She placed her hand over both of Anna's around the apple to steady herself while she kissed her.

With that kiss, Anna had no regrets for climbing so high. That kiss was better than an apple, even the golden one of the legends. Anna's memory of that kiss stayed etched in her mind forever, but the season around them soon faded.

Autumn gave way to winter. Snow blocked the roads, shutting the country folk in their homes. It made the forest and pastureland cold and deserted, trees bent under the weight of the snow; ice was everywhere and with it, silence.

The peasants on the estate spent most of their time inside, spinning and weaving the wool from all the sheep shorn earlier in the year. Since they could not take the herds out to the pasturelands, the animals were fed on grain and the farmers had a holiday. The rest from their hard routine was welcome to them and they all thought winter was the best season, all except for Anna and Elsa.

In the past, before they fell in love, winter had been a time of endless freedom and fun, playing in the snow or by the warm fire with their families, but now Elsa and Anna could not enjoy their rest or the snow or the winter beauty around without each other. Their passion had not been cooled by the weather.

Memories of their pleasures and departed joys, kisses and embraces, promises they had made swirled inside their minds, as flurries of snowflakes swirled outside the windows. The oaths they had sworn seemed to call through the silent white winter landscape; their oaths and their love made sure that Anna and Elsa did not forget one another. Both looked forward to the spring as if to a resurrection that would end their sleepless nights and dark, miserable days.

Elsa often found herself thinking of ways to see Anna or to send her a message, especially when she watched the flames of the fire or the candle in her room, the colour and the heat stirring recollections of the redhead and her embraces as Elsa waited through the winter storms.

The possessions in Elsa's room no longer seemed mere items but memories in physical form, the pipe Anna's lips had caressed when Elsa had taught her to play, the dress Elsa had worn on the day of their first kiss... They transported her when she touched them, and it was like Elsa was there again, in those summer days so different to now. Yet she resigned herself to waiting. Elsa held back her desire to run across the valley and find Anna, and instead she helped her father around the house, knowing that soon spring would come, and their reunion with it.

Anna's resistance was not so strong, however, and one clear, cold morning, she offered to go out and cut some firewood for her family's supply, even though it was not likely to run short any time soon.

Knowing their daughter was restless, Kai and Gerda let her go; Anna had their trust and the weather was clear, she would be safe. They gave her thick furs to wear and enough food to last a long time, since she would be gone for a while. Waving goodbye to her from the doorway, Gerda and Kai were content with the knowledge that Anna was happy, and they had correctly suspected where she was really intending to go.

The distance to Elsa's house was no more than a mile, but the snow gave Anna trouble. Deceptive drifts that seemed solid on the surface gave way and left Anna stuck in snow up to her thighs, forcing her to shuffle through the cold white powder for most of her journey. Though True Love finds a way through anything, fire, water or winter snow.

The farmstead where Elsa lived came into view, amidst bare trees and heaps of shovelled snow. Anna saw no one around so she stuck to the edge of the trees, gathering fallen branches and waiting for Elsa to appear. But when her arms were full and her feet were numb from standing in the snow, there was still no sign of the blonde hair or the slender figure she missed so much.

An idea came into her desperate mind to invent an excuse to get invited inside, so she walked up to the door of the house, shifted the weight of her firewood to one arm and held out her fist to knock, but just before she did, Anna faltered. She had never met Elsa's father, Olaf, before, and had no idea what she could say to make him let her in. Various scenarios played through Anna's mind while she stood on the doorstep. She didn't even know what Olaf looked like, but every excuse she could think of ended badly.

_"I've come from across the valley and I'm so hungry, can you spare me some food?"_

_"Your own bag is full, so be on your way!"_

In Anna's mind, Olaf was a huge, angry man who guarded his daughter closely. Anything she made up was refused:

_"I came to see Elsa, does she want to build a snowman?"_

_"What sort of question is that?"_

Even trying to evoke her father's pity:

_"Help! There's a wolf chasing me!"_

_"Then where are its footprints?"_

Anna sighed. Whatever she tried would probably get her into trouble, and maybe Elsa, too. Anna decided to just wait to see Elsa in the spring... She stared at the door a final time. Elsa was so close...

She was about to turn away when the door opened and the very person Anna had been wishing for rushed out onto the doorstep, nearly bumping into her and starting back with surprise.

Elsa was wearing a heavy woollen shawl over her head and shoulders, covering her blonde hair, and her blue eyes were wide while she stared. "Anna...!" she said, her voice was low, almost a whisper, as if she was afraid of scaring her away.

Anna almost fainted when she saw Elsa and dropped the branches she was carrying, but managed to hug her in greeting. Her heart beat even faster and louder when Elsa's lips brushed the corner of her mouth, so Anna turned her head to kiss her properly, passionately and sweetly. Anna had got more than she hoped for, to see Elsa and to kiss her, yet she left the embrace of Elsa's arms and picked up her firewood again, searching for something to say.

Elsa's heart fluttered and she couldn't do anything except stare at Anna, whose face she had only seen in dreams for over a month. Her father's voice brought them both back to reality.

"Elsa, shut the door!" Olaf called, then wandered into the hallway. "Is that Anna? Invite her in!"

Elsa remembered her manners. "Please come in, Anna." When Anna was beside her in the warmth, she shut the door behind them, finding it both strange and wonderful to see Anna in her home after they had only ever met out in the fields, and after Elsa had missed her so much.

"I'm Olaf," the old man said, and Anna was pleased to discover that he was not much taller than herself, with a kind smile and laughter lines around his eyes. He was bald except for a thin tuft of black hair on the top of his head, but an aura of friendliness surrounded him as he guided Anna inside the house.

"Elsa was just going to get some firewood," Olaf said, taking the branches from her arms. "But now we can use yours!"

Anna shook off the snow from her clothes and removed her boots and outer layers while Olaf fed the fire.

"Elsa's told me so much about you, Anna," Olaf continued, making up for the girls' still-surprised silence. "And you live so far away, you must be hungry! Will you join us for dinner?"

And, of course, Anna agreed. She shared the food that she had brought and together the three of them enjoyed a veritable feast.

Elsa sat beside Anna and held her hand under the table when they weren't busy eating, and Anna ate slowly so that her soul was nourished by the soft touch of Elsa's skin, which she needed more than food itself.

They spent a happy evening in warmth and good company, but since the winter days were short, it soon grew dark and Anna had to stay the night, so she and Elsa made their way to Elsa's bedroom, lit by the light of the candle Elsa held in the hand that was not entwined with Anna's.

Because Anna was the guest, Elsa insisted that the younger girl sleep in her own bed, while she made a bed of soft sheepskins and thick blankets on the floor for herself.

Anna stripped down to her underwear and snuggled in between the blankets of Elsa's bed, and they wished each other goodnight before Elsa put out the light.

Elsa's scent was all around her, on the blanket Anna was wrapped in - almost like embracing Elsa - and on the pillow where she rested her head - almost like burying her face in Elsa's hair- so Anna felt close to the other girl, but knew they could be closer.

Not long later, when Elsa was beginning to succumb to the deep sleep she had been deprived of by love for so long, Anna's voice carried through the darkness, and it felt to Elsa as if the night had been illuminated by the joy she felt to have Anna with her again.

"Elsa, are you awake?" Anna whispered

"I am now," came the whispered response, though Elsa didn't sound annoyed.

"I'm cold..." It seemed a silly reason to wake Elsa, and it wasn't entirely true, but it sounded better to Anna than just asking Elsa to join her in the bed.

Elsa didn't reply, but Anna heard shuffling on the floor. A few seconds later she felt the weight of a second blanket cover her, then - to her delight - the soft, warm form of Elsa slide into the bed behind her.

There was not much room, so Elsa squeezed right up behind Anna, pressing her breasts into her back and wrapping an arm around her waist. She placed her chin on Anna's shoulder. "Do you feel better now?" Elsa whispered into her ear.

"Yes," Anna breathed in reply.

She could hear Anna's smile and felt a grin tug at the corners of her own lips in the darkness before she went to sleep.

Elsa woke up more well-rested than she had felt in weeks, and with her face buried in a tangled mess of ginger hair. The sound of Anna's soft snoring filled her ears in a comforting rhythm and Elsa turned her head to take a look at the sleeping girl. She extracted a strand of red hair from her mouth while she freed herself and saw Anna lying on her back beside her. Elsa found that she was balanced right on the edge of her small bed, it was a miracle she hadn't fallen off in the night, but Elsa was happy as long as Anna was comfortable. Slowly, she wrapped an arm around Anna again and cuddled into her, glad when her snoring regained its rhythm.

It was light outside and she could hear Olaf moving around in the main room; Elsa hoped her father would not come in to wake them, she felt their embraces were private. But thankfully they remained undisturbed.

Elsa propped herself up on her elbow and leaned over Anna, fondly gazing at her freckled face, relaxed in sleep. Giving in to temptation, Elsa moved her hand up from Anna's waist to smooth the tangled ginger tresses away from her forehead, then tenderly stroked her cheek.

She watched as Anna's mouth closed, her brows furrowed, and her eyelids flickered, then opened, revealing her unique greenish-blue eyes gazing up into Elsa's own. Pride stirred in Elsa's chest to watch the moment when Anna woke, and to be the first sight Anna saw that day.

The smile that Anna gave her pulled at Elsa's heart before Anna's fingers threaded through her hair and gently pulled her head down to begin a warm session of kissing and embracing under the blankets. Elsa would remember it as long as she still slept in that room and in that bed, her recollection helped by the occasional strand of long ginger hair that she found, even months later.

However, a hunger easier to satisfy than their desire for each other soon lured Anna and Elsa to the kitchen, where Olaf was busy preparing food. The two girls fed themselves, then helped a little around the house before they put on their warm clothes to go out and gather firewood so Anna would have something to take back to her parents.

It was cold outside and a bitter breeze was blowing from the north, but the sun in the clear sky made it seem warmer than it really was. The low winter sun cast long shadows over the snow and when Elsa and Anna had wandered beyond the sight of the house, Elsa wrapped her arms around Anna's shoulders and felt Anna's arms encircle her waist, so as they embraced, their shadows were bound together as one.

Elsa pulled back from Anna's warmth to gaze at her face, then kissed her cold pink cheeks and nose to warm them, but by then they had turned red with Anna's blush.

"Well, I'd better do what I told my mother and father I came for and get some firewood," Anna said, reluctantly stepping out of Elsa's arms.

Elsa watched as Anna selected a small ash tree, then took an axe to it, ensuring they were both safely out of the way when it fell.

Beads of sweat were forming on Anna's brow by the time she had finished chopping the small tree into pieces, but she immediately cooled down again when a snowball landed in her face.

"Elsa!" Anna exclaimed, both annoyance and amusement in her voice, and turned around to retaliate, yet she couldn't see Elsa anywhere.

Anna paused, shivering slightly as a vestige of the snowball trickled down her clothes to the bare skin between her breasts, and determined the direction it had been thrown from. She gathered a huge snowball of her own and sneaked behind the tree, but paused again in confusion when there was no one there.

Then another snowball hit Anna's backside, making her jump and almost drop her own missile. "Elsa!" she shouted, spinning around to see Elsa laughing softly at her expression.

Anna threw her snowball, but missed, and Elsa laughed even more at her adorable snort of annoyance. Anna felt her face turn bright red though a smile soon rose to her own lips, because she knew how to stop Elsa's laughter. Anna marched up to Elsa, pushed her back against a tree and pressed her lips passionately to Elsa's.

Her laughter soon transformed into light moans of pleasure from the sweet sensations that the touch of Anna's lips awoke in her, making Elsa's heart thump louder than ever and warmth spread to every inch of her body from where she and Anna were touching.

Their kiss was heated and soon became wet when their mouths opened to each other. But they broke away to breathe, though Anna almost couldn't when she saw how beautiful Elsa looked at that moment.

Her cheeks were pink with her blush, contrasting with the rest of Elsa's pure-white paleness, her lips were reddened by their kiss and her blue eyes shone beneath her blonde lashes.

"I didn't come all that way through the snow yesterday to get firewood," Anna said, moved to speak by Elsa's beauty, her voice low and intense. "I came because of you, Elsa."

After quickly taking her gloves off, Elsa cradled Anna's flushed face with her warm fingers while her eyes traced the younger girl's freckled features, and would have memorised them, if they weren't already embedded on her heart.

"I know, Anna," Elsa replied. "What can I do to show you how much I care?"

"Just don't forget me." Anna smiled, but there was a hint of desperation to her words.

"I could  _never_  forget you, Anna," Elsa insisted, her eyes never leaving the blue-green ones in front of her. "Even when we're apart, you're in my thoughts; we'll always be together, I swore it in the cave. And we can meet there again as soon as the snow melts."

"But there's so much snow, I'm afraid I'll melt before it does!"

"You shouldn't worry, the sun's hot enough," Elsa said, stroking Anna's cheek reassuringly with her thumb.

"I wish it was as hot as the fire in my heart!"

"You're teasing!" she said, giving the redhead an embarrassed grin.

"I'm not!" Anna insisted. "I want to be with you forever, Elsa."

The blonde spent a few long moments simply staring at the beautiful girl in front of her, in awe of her feelings for Anna, and in wonder that Anna had the same feelings for her. But although Elsa had so many questions about how and why they both cared for each other so much, she knew that the answers could be found by doing one simple action. So Elsa gladly gave in to the sensations stirring inside her, begging her to get as close to Anna as she knew. Slowly and sweetly, she guided Anna's face to her own, the mist of their breaths mingling around them and their foreheads pressed together so closely that Elsa thought she felt Anna's eyelashes brush her own when they closed their eyes to unite their lips.

Before they got too lost in themselves and let the short winter day go by, Anna and Elsa each took half of the newly-cut firewood and left the forest; the tree had only been small so there was not much to carry when shared between the two of them.

As much as she wanted to stay with Elsa, Anna knew she had to return to her own home, where Kai and Gerda would be waiting for her, so while they walked back to Elsa's house, Anna prepared to say goodbye.

Olaf came out when they approached and brought Anna's pack, now filled with some of the loaves from the batch of bread that he had been baking all day.

Anna thanked Olaf for all the hospitality he had shown her and hugged him goodbye; she embraced Elsa last to ensure that the warmth and sweet scent of her remained undiluted.

Once Elsa and her father had gone back inside their house, Anna shouldered her pack and picked up the firewood again, the hardness of the wood in her arms contrasting completely with Elsa's soft body which they had encircled minutes before, and began her journey home. Each step taking her away from Elsa was more difficult than the last, but Anna knew in her heart that they would not be parted for long.

And indeed they weren't. Anna made many other visits to Elsa throughout the winter months, devising schemes to see her for any reason at all, from legitimate reasons like Elsa's birthday, to pretexts Anna made up off the top of her head. So they were not completely starved of love, despite the winter.

Spring came, the snow thawed, and it was time to take the sheep out again. On the very first day the girls led their flocks to the usual pastures, they rushed straight to the nymph's cave, bringing with them the first flowers of the year to decorate the shrine.

The life force of spring was all around, permeating the plants, the animals, and Elsa and Anna, too. To them it felt as if their spirits had been set on fire and their hearts were melting away. Now that they had known each other for a whole year, the girls were more bold in their glances, staring at the other's body, more exposed in their light dresses than they had been since the summer, and the flesh that had been caressed by their eyes was soon fondly caressed by their hands.

The need for more than just kisses and embraces was stronger than ever, especially for Elsa, whose passion burned within her brighter than the sun. On a particularly hot day, the heat in Elsa's heart was stifling and she couldn't hold back anymore, so she blushingly suggested to Anna that they undress and lie together again.

Anna agreed, always glad of a chance to see Elsa naked, but wondered what else she had in mind. She lay down beside Elsa and snuggled into the soft, white embrace of her arms, resting her head on Elsa's shoulder. The feel of their naked skin together was something Anna had missed dearly during the winter, and now that Elsa's arms were encircling her, and her hands resting just under Anna's breasts, she felt as if she had found the place where she really belonged. Elsa's own breasts were so close to Anna's face that she could feel them gently rise and fall with each breath and hear Elsa's heartbeat in her ear, its rhythm quick.

Though all they did was lie there, Anna and Elsa were content to admire the splendour of each other's naked bodies in the dappled sunlight shining through the trees above. They remained there for a long time, simply being together, but they had no idea what it was they wanted to achieve, that perfect union of bodies and souls that Elsa and Anna were unaware of in their innocence.

Eventually they left each other's embrace and turned their attentions to the world around them once more. Flowers had begun to blossom all over the meadow and the two maidens picked them together, weaving them into garlands. Anna watched Elsa's graceful movements closely and wove a garland of her own, a crown of flowers that she proudly placed on Elsa's head.

Though Elsa was confused when Anna studied her for a minute or two before removing the garland again.

"It didn't suit you," Anna said. "Your hair is more beautiful than all the flowers in the world." She leaned over and reached up, giving Elsa a perfect view of her breasts while she placed kisses on the top of Elsa's head.

Later, when the coming night reddened the sky, Anna dressed herself and prepared to guide her sheep home. She took Elsa into her arms and held her close as they said goodbye, but it was not the same now that Elsa was the only one unclothed. Anna's dress stopped her sensing the softness of Elsa and the closeness of their bond, which was only possible to feel with her bare skin. Though sadness did not trouble Anna when she left because she knew they'd meet again tomorrow, and after the winter, a single night seemed like no time at all.

Left alone, Elsa picked up the flowers that she and Anna had gathered, to place them on the shrine and end her day's herding in the same place she had begun it. After adorning the statues with the fresh, fragrant spring flowers, Elsa looked up at the exquisite figures of the three goddesses who guarded the countryside in which she had lived all her life, a life that had been saved in this very cave, along with the life of the girl who meant so much to her. The nymphs had been watching over her and Anna since before either of them could remember, so Elsa knew they would not ignore her request.

Naked, she knelt by the shrine, the setting sun shining in from the cave's entrance and making her light-blonde hair seem almost as red as Anna's; no being, Divine or mortal, could fail to be moved by that beautiful sight.

"Nymphs," Elsa prayed aloud, her voice low and sincere. "Anna and I don't know what to do. The old man said that what we feel is love and can't be cured, but his advice to ease it doesn't work, I still can't stop my feelings. Please help me to understand love, please show me what I should do with Anna."

When night had covered all the land in its blanket of darkness, Elsa's sheep were back by the farmyard and Elsa herself was asleep in her bed. Memories of when she and Anna had shared their warmth and their kisses here had carried her into sleep and thence into dreams.

Elsa would remember the events of that dream vividly later in her waking life, and all the sensations she felt that night.

She was naked in the shrine again as she had been hours before, though this time it was lit up with a bright white light that seemed to come from all around and gave everything a soft, radiant glow. The light seemed strongest when Elsa raised her eyes and saw not the statues standing in their usual place, but real goddesses.

Their skin was still as white as marble, yet now the nymphs' eyes were heavenly blue, and their hair, falling free, shone brightly with colour, one red-haired, one blonde and one brunette. The goddesses were comely, their flowing white robes did not disguise the figures that were underneath, though all the flesh that Elsa could see was what their gowns did not cover; their bare feet and soft, white arms.

Three pairs of red lips opened as one and the nymphs spoke to Elsa with voices blending in harmony, so mellifluous that she felt she was floating away.

"Elsa, we heard your prayer and we shall grant it. Mark well what we show you, for most mortals must discover the acts of True Love themselves, but to you alone will we impart their secrets, so you and Anna may join together as you both desire. Remember what you learn tonight, Elsa!"

The white light surrounding her swirled and suddenly Anna was with her, naked, too. Her hand took hold of Elsa's own and pulled her down until they were lying together, Elsa could not tell where they lay, all she could feel was Anna's skin against her own.

The whole dream-world was hazy, Elsa was herself, yet not herself, at the same time both observing and participating, controlled and controlling, but all the time aware of only Anna.

Elsa kissed her lips and Anna's mouth opened to her until their tongues stroked each other in secret wet caresses.

She thought it couldn't get any more intimate and wonderful than this, but Elsa's dream self knew differently. She touched Anna everywhere, as Elsa had wanted to in her waking life, though her dream self knew why and how. Her hands cupped and stroked Anna's soft breasts, her stiffened nipples; first gentle touches, then firmer, teasing, while Anna writhed under her, breathing hotly and heavily.

Elsa touched between Anna's legs, dipping into the hair and warmth and wetness there with her tongue, with her fingers. She knew exactly where to touch, and Elsa saw Anna's face beneath her, with her eyes closed in an expression of pure bliss, her lips parted to release sensuous sighs that echoed all around.

And Anna touched her, too, in the same places until the rest of Elsa's dream became a whirl of pleasure; white light and heat were all that Elsa was aware of. She shuddered, a long moan escaped from her open mouth and in her dream, Elsa closed her eyes to let the warmth and sensations consume her.

When she opened them again it was to the waking world and the light of dawn shining in through her window. But heat still surrounded her, a vestige of the dream, and Elsa threw off her blanket. She lay there, tingling all over, wondering whether it was from her dream or the cool morning air meeting her skin, clad only in a thin nightgown as she was.

Elsa remembered everything the nymphs had shown her in the night, for she had no doubt that it had not been an ordinary dream. Gratitude illuminated Elsa as the sunbeams illuminated her room and she lay in the light of Divine love, so grateful for all the goddesses had done for her throughout her life. They had saved her as a baby and now they had saved her again, revealing to Elsa the secrets of love so she could use the goddess-given gift of life and know every pleasure that was possible.

Yet it occurred to Elsa that in the dream she hadn't felt that particular sensation of Anna's skin against her own, though she knew it well already, and she had not learned Anna's taste, despite touching her so intimately with her tongue... So the dream had not revealed all and had left the full pleasures of making love for Elsa to discover herself.

Now she knew the acts of True Love that had eluded her for so long, now she knew what she wanted to do with Anna and Elsa was eager to try it straight away, though the thought struck her that they should get married first, to show that she loved not just the pleasure of their bodies together, but that she was dedicated to Anna forever.

Elsa concealed her new knowledge, but hoped she would be able to use it soon. Yet, thanks to what she now knew, in Elsa's eyes Anna became almost too hard to resist and every little movement she made or glance she gave her stoked the fire in Elsa's heart, forcing her to hold back her passions when they kissed and embraced, saving everything she wanted to share with Anna for after they had been joined in matrimony.

Though, again, Elsa was not the only one with her mind turned towards such things. The beauty of both Elsa and Anna had not gone unnoticed by all but each other. Young folk from all corners of the estate had heard about the two unmarried maidens and their loveliness, spread by word of mouth from those who had glimpsed them on the rare occasions Anna or Elsa were away from the pastures, during shearing time and at markets with their parents.

Now that vernal passion was all around, it brought curious young men and women visiting their homes to try their chances at courting one of the maidens who were usually so isolated from everyone else. Elsa and Anna were out with each other on most days and missed many of these visits, but when the girls were home the presence of others surprised them.

Elsa had no time for anyone other than Anna, felt no bond, sensed no spark akin to the fire that blazed inside when she looked in Anna's eyes. She politely avoided serious conversations and created excuses to make the visitors leave, preferring solitude to such futile discussions, since Elsa had already decided she would marry Anna; she just had to summon the courage to ask her before it was too late.

But suggestions of marriage worried Anna, who sat and spoke with her visitors. She was naturally sociable by nature so Anna enjoyed the company of all her new guests, though as soon as talk of love began - now Anna could spot the signs in others - she changed the subject.

With no response from one, the would-be suitors tried the other, because both girls were equally beautiful and skilled, even if their parents were poor.

Kai, Gerda and Olaf, however, each saw that their daughter was not interested in the attentions of these strangers but knew that the day would come when Elsa and Anna would have to marry and leave home. So each simply said to their daughter that she should make a decision, hoping it would encourage her to change her pastoral romance with her fellow shepherdess - that they were all aware of - into something more. The parents had never met, they lived on opposite sides of the valley, and yet the same idea came into their heads; for Elsa and Anna to be together was the only way to make them truly happy, which was all each parent wanted for their daughter.

In the solemn silence of the shrine, Elsa found Anna one day, her head bowed and her hands clasped. She looked up when Elsa entered, the dim light in the cave making her eyes look bluer than usual.

"Are you praying?" Elsa asked, hesitating, she didn't want to disturb Anna's meditation.

"It's fine, I've finished now," said Anna, giving her a smile.

Elsa smiled back, relieved. "I hope the nymphs help you." She placed a single perfect blue flower on the shrine.

Now it was Anna's turn to hesitate; it was said that you shouldn't speak your prayers and wishes or they might not come true. But Elsa was an exception, Elsa was like a part of her, and she was involved with what Anna wished for. "Actually,  _you_  can help me, too," she said, lacing her fingers together and staring at her hands. "Strangers keep coming to visit my house, they want to get to know me, some say they want to marry me... But I wish they'd stay away, because the only one I want to marry is you, Elsa." When she spoke her name, Anna fixed Elsa with her stunning blue-green gaze, and she had no idea of the things it did to the other girl.

"Then that's what you'll do!" Elsa said, once she could hear her thoughts over her heartbeat again. She took a step closer and clasped Anna's hands with both of her own. "I want to marry you, too, Anna. And be with you forever, just like we promised."

"Elsa..." Anna stood slightly on tiptoe to close the distance between their lips and kissed Elsa until her legs grew weak. She wrapped her arms around Elsa's fair shoulders, resting her head against her so she could hear her heart and the hum of her voice when she spoke.

"I'll ask your mother and father tomorrow but even if they say no, we'll be together somehow."

"They'll say yes, Elsa," Anna assured her. "They know how much you mean to me."

Elsa kissed the top of Anna's head, words being too inadequate to express her emotions, and buried her face in her red hair.

From that moment onwards, Elsa regarded herself as Anna's suitor. She knew she could easily beat the others; though she was not rich and had only her skills and her beauty to distinguish her from the others, Elsa had Anna's love, and that was the most important thing of all.

To Elsa's surprise and delight, when the night came, so, too, did another Divine dream, though its guidance was more subtle than the last. Her dream self went down to the shore of the sea and immersed herself in the water. Elsa moved as if she knew exactly where she was going and needed neither to come up for air nor to close her eyes and shield them from the sea. She paused at a certain rock on the ocean floor, still in the shallows though the surface was well above her head.

Elsa eased her fingers under the smooth, round stone and lifted it as if it weighed nothing at all. Underneath was a large leather purse, loosely tied, revealing the glint of gold coins inside. She picked up the purse and held it to her chest before kicking her legs and launching herself towards the air above again.

She awoke with a gasp at the moment when she would have reached the surface, and Elsa knew that she had been helped again. She could still feel the weight of the treasure in her hands, knowing that if she had such money in reality, it would be more than enough to prove to Anna's parents that she was worthy to be Anna's wife and would look after her well.

The day went by as usual for Elsa, though the dream nagged at her more than the last one had done, staying on her mind and urging Elsa to re-enact what she had learned right away.

Finally it became too much for her and Elsa left the glade where the two of them were watching the sheep, making excuses and kissing Anna before she went. Her first destination was the shrine, where Elsa paid homage to the nymphs, saying a quick, silent prayer of thanks beneath the statues before she followed the river down the valley to the sea.

While she walked, Elsa wondered if she was wasting her time. What she saw that night might have been just a normal dream, since the nymphs themselves did not appear as they had in Elsa's dream of love. But she reasoned there was no harm in trying; Elsa always loved to see the sea, and with all the time she spent herding the sheep, it was easy to forget that she lived so close to it.

At the shore, Elsa checked to see that no one was around, but the only sign of human life was a small fishing boat in the distance, and nobody on it would notice her. Reassured, she stripped off her clothes and placed them safely under some driftwood. The ocean breeze made Elsa shiver and the sand under her bare feet was different to the grass they usually caressed, yet not unpleasantly so. The sea was colder than the lakes and rivers Elsa was used to, but she became accustomed to the difference as she waded into the waves, positioning herself so she was swimming in the exact place she had dreamed of.

She held her breath and plunged under the water opening her eyes to look around beneath, though the salt stung them and made the blurred shapes she saw all the more confusing. But the water was lit from above by the midday sun, making things clearer than they could have been.

Just when Elsa was about to give up, running out of both air and patience, she recognised the shape of the rock, smooth and round, exactly the same as in her dream. She dug her fingers into the sand underneath and tried to pull the stone free from the sea floor, though Elsa soon discovered that it matched her dream no longer; the rock was so heavy that she couldn't move it. Yet this made her more determined, not disheartened. Elsa hoped that what was underneath would indeed match her dream, and she had decided to discover if it did, trusting the Divine guidance that had brought her to this place.

It took Elsa a few attempts, returning to the surface for air in between them, but she managed to shift the rock and lift it, turning it over to reveal what was underneath. The disturbed sand soon cleared, letting Elsa see the gold shining in the sunlight from above.

She felt light-headed as it struck her that this was all too good to be true, that more than one act of kindness from Providence was too much to hope for. But this was the third and final gift from the nymphs; they had given Elsa her life, her love, and now the means to enjoy them together.

And Elsa accepted gladly and gratefully. She quickly grabbed the purse, as if it would disappear if she left it any longer, and picked it up, carrying her new treasure to the shore. The purse was heavy and when Elsa looked inside she saw there was a small fortune in there. She looked at the coins while wading out of the water, Elsa didn't notice the cold air on her wet skin since excitement was burning inside. The coins seemed old and Elsa guessed that someone must have hidden them there long ago and forgotten, leaving them to the nymphs of this land, who in turn had now given them to her and Anna.

Elsa dressed herself again and ran, holding the purse carefully in her arms, silently praising everything she saw with her smile, and Anna most of all when she laid eyes on her again and knew that their future had been secured.

"Anna!" she called, sprinting to meet her. "Look what we've been blessed with!"

Curious, Anna looked closer to see what Elsa clutched in her arms, then her eyes went wide and she seemed momentarily lost for words while she touched the gold as if making sure it was real.

"There must be thousands in here, Elsa!" Anna said, before giving Elsa a grin as wide as her eyes when she realised what it meant, a realisation that was voiced by Elsa moments later.

"It means we can be together!" she said. "There's no way your parents can refuse!"

Anna agreed to watch the sheep again and Elsa kissed her forehead, sweetly and tenderly, a precious pause between her journeys, because a couple of minutes later she was travelling again, this time in the opposite direction, to Anna's house.

Elsa had already walked far that day, but love gave her energy and also took away her nervousness. It was the first time Elsa had met Anna's parents, and she felt only excitement at the prospect of hearing their reply and getting closer to the union with Anna that she had dreamed of.

Gerda and Kai recognised Elsa from Anna's descriptions and thought her just as beautiful as Anna had said; they felt they knew her already from all their daughter had told them, and did not hesitate to invite her in and offer her food and wine.

"I'm here to ask for Anna's hand in marriage," Elsa said when the three of them were seated around the table. "I can prove to you I'm worthy of her; I have my own flock of sheep that I've raised all by myself for years, I can read, and I have money." Elsa placed the purse on the table where the others could see the riches, more money than either Kai or Gerda had ever seen in their lives.

"If you agree, I'll give most of it to you as a dowry," Elsa continued. "But we'll need some to build our life together. Please don't choose anyone else to marry Anna," she implored, her eyes seemed to burn with blue fire from the power of her love. "No one else can give her what I will. I promise I'll look after her; I'll do anything for her. And most importantly, Anna wants to be with me, too. Please give us your blessing!"

Kai and Gerda shared a glance, joy reflected in each other's eyes. "We want to agree," Gerda said, squeezing Elsa's hand briefly and kindly. "But we'll give you an answer soon. There are some small matters to discuss with your father first."

Elsa spent the next few hours waiting anxiously in the farmyard, pacing and wandering around while she waited for Anna's parents to return.

Gerda and Kai had gone to visit Olaf across the valley, and though all three of them had lived so closely for such a long time, they had never met before, so after they had introduced themselves, Anna's parents explained the reason for their visit.

"Elsa and Anna are so fond of each other that separating them wouldn't be easy, even if we tried," said Olaf, remembering all the times Anna had come to visit in the winter and how close they were, never spending a moment apart. "They have my blessing!"

"Ours, too," Kai said. "And it's best for them to marry someone close, someone they know rather than a stranger from the other side of the land."

"But Anna's not our daughter by birth," Gerda said, voicing the concern she and Kai had been considering. "She's clearly not a peasant, you can tell that just by looking at her beauty. Anna might be too good for a shepherd's life."

She and Kai showed Olaf the token they had found with Anna and told him the story of how Kai had discovered her in the nymphs' shrine.

Olaf then brought out the ring that had been left with Elsa when she was a baby, and related to them the similar events.

Anna had told her parents that Elsa was adopted, too, so they were not surprised to hear Olaf's story, but they  _were_  surprised to see such a rich jewel, so similar to Anna's.

"They must both be from the city," said Kai, who had travelled there often in his youth. "They look like the work of the same craftsman," he added when he had finished comparing the two tokens.

"Then that settles things!" Olaf announced. "Elsa and Anna are both equal, they're beautiful and they're of noble birth, so they're worthy of each other. If they're happy as shepherds then so be it, let them get married!"

"Providence saved and joined them," Gerda agreed. "It guided them here; they're connected by Fate and forces beyond our knowledge, we have to agree!"

And all gladly did.

Anna's parents made their way back to their home, where Elsa was still waiting. When they gave Elsa the answer she had been praying for, pure joy lit up her face in a radiant smile while she thanked them, an expression that made Gerda and Kai's own spirits soar to know how happy they had made her.

As quick as her heartbeat racing in her chest, Elsa hurried back to Anna. She saw her, standing there as if nothing had changed since they last saw each other, but Elsa knew that she and Anna were now about to start a new stage in their life, a stage of incredible beauty.

Yet instead of telling her, Elsa let go of her restraints and took Anna into her arms, kissing her without concealment, because she now regarded Anna as her wife, soon to share the secrets of love with her. They embraced like they were joined together, their limbs entwining while they stood. Elsa's hands stroked Anna's back, supporting her, holding her close, feeling the curves of Anna's figure beneath the fabric of her dress. She flicked her tongue briefly between Anna's lips, provoking a light little moan from the younger girl. And Elsa was tempted to do so again, to hear Anna make another enticing noise and stir her own desire even more, but she told herself to save it for their wedding night, now she knew that occasion would be coming soon. So Elsa reined her passion in again and parted their mouths, her lips tingling, Anna's taste on her tongue. Elsa embraced her instead, and breathed in the scent of her hair and the soft skin of her neck.

Elsa didn't need to speak a word, Anna knew what her parents had said. It was the best news she had ever received, though it had not been spoken aloud but communicated in touches and caresses of lips and fingertips; the language of love that she and Elsa were rapidly learning. Anna held her tighter, the subtle changes of Elsa's breathing now perceptible with the press of her body, and Anna could sense that Elsa was just as happy as she felt herself.

Tears of joy welled in Elsa's eyes, her emotions swirling so strongly inside that they had to let themselves out somehow, but the strongest one of all was relief because Elsa knew so much could have gone wrong and yet it hadn't. They were together, Anna was in her arms and soon Elsa wouldn't have to let her go.

Months of preparation went by, far too slowly for Anna and Elsa, but there was so much to get ready. A new house was bought with the money Elsa had found; everyone asked where she had got such riches, and Elsa simply told them the truth, which was not doubted, their parents all knew the powers of the nymphs.

The house was the perfect size for the two of them and just the right location, so they could continue to herd their sheep, as Elsa and Anna wanted, and they could stay close to both the land and the animals that had brought them together. The building had lain empty for a long time but was soon freshly furnished and decorated by Kai, Gerda and Olaf to be ready for the girls as soon as they were married.

To Anna and Elsa, the prospect of leaving the houses they had lived in all their lives was somewhat scary, but the anticipation of being with each other eclipsed any fears; to be alone together, undisturbed, never forced to separate was all the two young women wanted, so such a change was welcome.

Their waiting ended at Midsummer, where a festival in honour of the season was being held in the private temple at the grand house of the estate, and this event became a triple celebration when it was arranged for Elsa and Anna's wedding to take place on the same day, which was also Anna's eighteenth birthday.

The wedding party arrived from their valley towards the evening, when most of the rich guests had left, but the landowner and his wife were waiting in the temple to watch the marriage.

Anna and Elsa walked hand in hand towards the temple, looking around curiously at the mansion and the gardens surrounding them. It was the first time either of them had seen such grand and beautiful buildings and already it seemed certain to be a day that the two of them would never forget.

The temple was different to the shrines that were the only places of worship in the countryside and instead of statues, the building was decorated with paintings depicting the deeds of the Divines, beautifully illustrated. Waiting at the altar stood the priest, and the master and mistress of the estate sat together to see the wedding of their two servants.

Elsa and Anna would normally have been nervous to see the people in charge of their jobs and their homes, but now they were about to be joined in matrimony, the two young women were blind to all but each other, and it was no wonder, because Anna and Elsa were beautiful, clad in their finest dresses, their hair braided and threaded with countless flowers; treasures from nature where richer women would have worn jewellery.

It was a humble, rural ceremony, though one of luxury for the brides. They said their vows, promising to protect, honour and support each other for the rest of their lives, moving their master and mistress so much that after the bridal hymns had been sung, they invited Elsa, Anna and their families to share a feast with them in the dining hall of their house.

None of the visitors had encountered such wealth before, and being servants themselves, they had never been waited on by others, so it was an occasion of new experiences for them all, with the luxurious décor of the hall treating their eyes, and the taste of rich food and sweet wines on their tongues. But Anna and Elsa would soon be tasting something even sweeter.

The sun had ceased to grace the sky with its presence, ending the longest day of the year yet beginning the first night of Elsa and Anna's married life; it was time for the brides to go to their new home.

The distance was not far for the two girls who had spent most of their young lives wandering the countryside nearby, and they knew the land well. Waving goodbye to their parents and hosts, Anna and Elsa took each other's hands and hurried towards their house, not pausing once until they had closed the door behind them.

Together the brides lit a fire from the torches they had carried to light their way, and watched the glow grow until it lit up the whole room. The moment had arrived, the moment that Elsa had been awaiting for a long time, she didn't need to hold back anymore. Elsa could give Anna all of her love, if she would accept it.

She gazed at Anna in the firelight, looking lovelier than ever, but soon simply gazing at her wasn't enough, Elsa had to touch her. Though she knew what they would do together soon, Elsa couldn't decide how to start; every part of Anna was so beautiful, so tempting. And she found her fingers were entwining themselves tenderly in Anna's tresses, undoing her braids and removing the flowers, restoring her natural beauty that needed no ornamentation.

"I'm glad it's just us again," Anna said, leaning into the touch of Elsa's soft fingers.

"Me too," she agreed, smiling to see Anna's hair flowing freely, her grin growing wider when Anna enfolded her in an embrace.

Anna slid her arms around Elsa's graceful shoulders and pressed their bodies together, Elsa's hands encircling her hips while her own hands worked to unfasten Elsa's braid. Once her long blonde hair had been freed from its braid, Anna reached down to unbutton Elsa's dress, slowly and clumsily since she could not see what she was doing, and slid the fabric off her body.

She then did the same for herself, assisted by Elsa's skilful fingers, so they were equal in their naked beauty. Anna suspected they would try to lie together again now that they were married, and she couldn't wait to feel Elsa's unclothed skin on her own once more, it had been such a long time since they had been so close.

Anna's heart leapt when Elsa gently guided her until she was lying down upon the rug in the centre of the room, with the fire burning steadily beside them, though the passion in Elsa and Anna was blazing.

Desperate to discover the truth of love, the two young women did not go to their bed, but remained there, where they could see each other illuminated by the light from the fire. Anna's red hair pooled beneath her, vivid against the white rug on which she lay, and her freckled skin looked more radiant than Elsa had ever seen it, so beautiful that kissing her did not seem enough to show Anna just how perfect she was, but Elsa brought their lips together anyway.

Sensations fired through every inch of Anna's body. The thick fur of the bearskin rug was soft beneath her, caressing her, almost cradling her, though it was not as soft as Elsa's skin above or Elsa's lips on her own. When their mouths parted and Elsa leaned back to look at her with heavy-lidded eyes and reddened lips, Anna did something she had wanted to do for a long time and placed her hands on Elsa's breasts to feel the soft flesh fill her hands, yielding to her touch and making the blonde's breathing hitch.

Elsa was normally so pale, but now a blush coloured her cheeks and her blue eyes looked dark in the firelight; her expression was one Anna had never seen before. It was as if Elsa lit up when she touched Anna, as she was doing now, stroking her face and smiling like she was the happiest woman in all the world. And it was all because of Anna. She reached up, too, to caress Elsa's beautiful, precious face and trace her elegant golden eyebrows with her thumbs.

"I can't believe I do this to you," Anna whispered in wonder, stunned by what she knew she was making Elsa feel, because she felt it herself, fluttering in her chest.

"It's because you're perfect," Elsa said, placing her hand over Anna's and fingering the ring that she had placed there hours before, the symbol that they were now bonded for life. "You're mine, and I'm yours."

Anna touched the ring on Elsa's own finger that rested by her cheek, so simple and unadorned by jewels, but the only jewels that made Anna's heart glow with want and need were those she saw in Elsa's eyes. The stirring Anna felt in her heart, her head and all around her body was familiar to her, though now she guessed the cause and what it was called.

"Is this love?" she asked.

"I think so," Elsa said, her voice just above a whisper.

"Then I love you, Elsa."

"And I love you, Anna," came her wife's heartfelt reply, accompanied by a caress of her hand that ended with her thumb tracing under Anna's lip before Elsa brought her own mouth down to sense the words that they had spoken in their kiss.

It had taken them a long time to understand what love is, but Anna and Elsa did that night; two people joining together, becoming one in ultimate intimacy. Though Anna still wondered how exactly it was done and voiced her curiosity.

"Do you know what to do?"

"Yes." Elsa's eyes stayed locked on Anna's to prove her truth; she hoped Anna would believe her. "The nymphs showed me in a dream."

Anna's trust would never falter and she smiled as she replied. "The goddesses are so good to us, they've given us so much!" She was rendered speechless by how fortunate they were, and also by Elsa's lips joining with her own again.

She kissed Anna tenderly, tasting in between her sweet lips until Anna's tongue met her own, her moan showing Elsa how much she enjoyed it. They soon found a rhythm, their tongues intertwining and writhing together in pleasure between both their mouths.

But even though they were already so close, Elsa could not know Anna's thoughts and she wanted to be sure Anna was completely comfortable; this was about both of them joining together in love, not compromising one's wishes over the other's. Elsa extracted herself from the intoxicating warmth of Anna's mouth and looked into her eyes to see her breathing hard, her lips red and wet.

"Anna?"

"Yes, Elsa?" Anna's eyes were dark with desire in the firelight and she looked as though she would rather be kissing than talking; her fingers were weaving themselves into Elsa's hair and slowly guiding her back down. Elsa only just resisted her.

"If you don't like it, just say so and I'll stop." She stroked Anna's face with her impossibly-soft fingertips, smiling kindly, and there was sincerity in her eyes.

"Of course I'll like it, Elsa," Anna assured her; she had no doubt that Elsa meant what she said, but she was more curious than ever to find out what it was they would do together.

"But you will tell me, won't you?" Elsa asked, her eyes intense.

"I will," Anna said. She knew that here with Elsa she was safe, and it was truly wonderful to have someone who cared for her so much.

With Anna's words, relief coursed through her, almost as strongly as the warmth that began in her lips and quickly spread lower when Elsa renewed their kiss and touched their tongues together. She knew that now they could truly begin to make love.

Elsa moved her hands up Anna's body from her hips, her fingers leaving tingles on Anna's skin until she reached her breasts. Her freckled flesh yielded to Elsa's touch and a long, sensuous sigh left her lips before her breathing quickened, pushing her breasts further into Elsa's palms.

Anna never knew her nipples could get so hard or feel so good. The way Elsa was caressing her sent little shivers down Anna's spine, and her expression was just how Anna had felt when she had touched Elsa's earlier; she looked like the desire to do this had been building up inside her for a long time but was finally being set free with kisses and caresses in appreciation of Anna's body.

Elsa continued downwards, kissing as she went until she paused to position herself, her skin almost as white as the fur of the rug against her stomach and breasts, and in that pause, Anna knew they were about to begin the most intimate night of their lives.

Anna could see where Elsa's eyes were focused, she had thought that would be the place where Elsa would touch her; it had felt good whenever Anna had briefly, unwittingly brushed her hand down there in the past. Though in her innocence, Anna hadn't known what her body was capable of. Now that innocence was not about to be lost but transformed and merged with Elsa to become a new knowledge, of both herself and the woman she loved.

With a soft press of her palm, Elsa encouraged Anna to spread her legs fully, and when the air around met the wetness of her womanhood, Anna felt truly naked. And under Elsa's gaze Anna felt truly beautiful as Elsa leaned in to kiss her lower lips as she had her ones above.

Anna gasped at the unfamiliar sensation of Elsa's warm mouth on her most private parts, and again when her hot tongue entered Anna's folds, sending surges of pleasure all through her body. But it faded when Elsa raised her head and looked right into Anna's eyes, which made a fervent blush spread through Anna's features at the affection she saw there, and the words she said.

"You taste wonderful." Elsa's voice was low and passionate, yet Anna could not reply with the joy she felt to know that Elsa loved every part of her.

From the expression on Anna's face, Elsa could see that she was most definitely enjoying herself, and the worries of before faintly dissipated, though Elsa still went slowly, still watched carefully to make sure she was giving Anna the pleasure she deserved.

She brought her fingers, trembling slightly from nervousness and arousal, up to Anna's sex, holding her apart to ease her access. The sight of the secret folds of pink wet flesh sent a jolt of sensation to Elsa's centre, and to know that she too had such beauty hidden within her made Elsa's heart speed up with pride and admiration. Amazed, she leaned closer and found the parts from her dream that she remembered made Anna moan. Elsa pressed her lips to the little nub near the top and licked all the way up Anna's womanhood, through the textures of her moist flesh, just as they had been in the dream, but now every sensation was so real, so vivid, so  _Anna_ , and the delicious taste of her was almost overpowering.

Anna was beginning to fall apart already from the swirl of pleasure in her head, in her heart and between her legs, all because of Elsa; she didn't know it was possible to feel so  _good_.

"Elsa, this is amazing...!" she managed to exclaim, before she lost control completely. Anna heard moans come out of her mouth that surprised her with their loudness, escaping from deep inside her and she couldn't stop them, moans mingled with Elsa's name. Her fingers tangled in the rug as Elsa licked and sucked at her womanhood, tracing her folds with her tongue but always returning to one spot in particular that made Anna squirm and seem to burn with pleasure when Elsa touched it.

The desire to see Anna's face, not just hear her cries, took hold of Elsa and she shifted herself so she was leaning over Anna, whose eyes were wide while her panting breaths questioned why Elsa had paused. But Elsa did not pause for long. She placed two of her fingers where her tongue had been and wet them within Anna's womanhood, watching while her blue-green eyes clouded and closed with pleasure when Elsa lowered her fingers to brush against her entrance.

Anna's centre was slick and hot, covering Elsa's fingers with wetness when they slid easily inside. Elsa pushed her fingers in gently, as far as she could, and the way Anna's hot wetness surrounded them was so much better than her dream. Though nervousness still nagged at Elsa's mind, since she only had a vague idea of what to do, and this was all so intense, the taste and touch and sound of Anna was all around her, but Elsa knew that they were connected so deeply that love would guide them both to what they needed.

The moan that Anna heard leave her mouth was long and rose in pitch, ending in a gasp when Elsa's fingers entered her. For a moment, the thought crossed Anna's mind of asking Elsa to stop; the sensation was strange, Elsa's fingers filled and stretched her, made her insides feel different. Yet the next moment, Elsa brushed a part of her, hidden deep within, that ignited flames of pleasure, making her numb to all but Elsa's touch, and Anna realised that it was a good different, a  _very_  good different. Elsa was inside her, as close as they could be, so Anna almost felt as if she was an extension, a part of Elsa that responded to her every caress.

Anna's ginger lashes parted and she opened her eyes, seeming dark green in the light, meeting Elsa's gaze. She paused, her fingers still surrounded by Anna's warmth, and while the heavy sounds of their breathing continued around them, Elsa wanted to be fully sure that what she felt - the pure, consuming closeness - was not all one-sided. "Do you feel all right?" she whispered.

"I feel...  _complete_ ," Anna replied, and raised her hands, damp with sweat, to rest on Elsa's shoulders.

"So do I," Elsa replied, and she was too awed to smile, though her eyes showed the joy swirling just below the surface of her being.

She continued, exploring, gently pressing her fingertips inside Anna's secret place. Every movement Elsa made summoned a gasping moan from Anna while her eyes closed again and a blush suffused her freckled face and bosom. The hands that lay on Elsa's shoulders radiated warmth and gripped her skin when she found that spot inside Anna. Elsa pressed it harder, rhythmically thrusting her fingers and watching as sweat began to bead on Anna's brow.

"Elsa...!" she panted, managing to form her breaths into words. "I'm going to - !" She didn't know what; dissolve, explode? But Anna knew something was happening that would shake her to the core. And when it did, everything faded, yet was more vivid than ever before, Anna heard her own voice rise in elation as her back arched, felt herself tighten around Elsa's fingers. Patterns seemed to swirl behind her closed eyes, dancing to the rhythm of her moans and shudders, until they gradually faded.

Anna was aware that her senses had returned to normal again by the sound of her breath - deep, calm and satisfied - the sound of Elsa's breath, the faint crackling of the fire; she opened her eyes.

The sight that greeted them made Anna question whether the breathtaking force that had just consumed her had transported her to another realm, because Elsa looked so lovely. Elsa always looked lovely, but when Anna saw her at that moment it was as if she was looking with eyes made new by the love they now shared. She lay close enough to touch, though their skin was not united, and her face contained an expression of amazement matching the way Anna felt; the love, the passion and the elation swirling around and between them both.

Elsa's lips were parted, her pale face flushed, Anna lowered her eyes to Elsa's equally beautiful body that she knew so well but saw now with her knowledge of love, teaching her to appreciate it fully; Elsa's breasts were larger than her own, her nipples pink and firm, and her fingers glistened with wetness from being inside Anna minutes before, bringing her to that state of pleasure and connection that surpassed  _everything_.

To be able to do that for Elsa in return was what Anna set her heart on at that moment. But she had to touch Elsa to prove that she was real, that such beauty was truly hers, bound to her in marriage and in love. She placed her palm on Elsa's arm, heat and passion mingled in their touch so much that Anna never wanted to part from her.

A shadow of worry passed over Anna's mind before she pursued that passion, worry that she did not truly know what she was doing, but Anna dismissed it; such things never troubled her for long and Anna was determined to try.

"Elsa," she began, her voice seeming loud above the soft sounds around them. "I want to... touch you, too. Will you let me?"

Elsa nodded, with a nervous smile on her lips and excited anticipation fluttering in her heart. She lay on the rug, the fur smooth against the skin of her back, and Anna moved over her, kneeling between Elsa's legs and sharing the heat of her body.

Anna looked down to Elsa's womanhood, leaning closer to see her golden hair and the pinkness of her secret place revealed by her spread legs. Her womanhood looked wet and when Anna gently pressed her fingers into Elsa's folds she found she was very wet indeed, and so sensitive. Elsa shifted beneath her with every movement, gasping and panting while Anna found the part that had made her feel so good, rubbing the hardened little bud.

She turned her eyes back up when Elsa whimpered in pleasure, the sight of what she was doing to this wonderful, beautiful woman whom she loved so much made pride flutter in Anna's chest. Elsa's cheeks were bright pink and her eyes were closed, the gold of her lashes glinting in the light as she writhed with Anna's rhythm.

Elsa's blushing bosom heaved with her breaths, her red lips were faintly curved in a smile and Anna knew that the pleasure she remembered well was now taking over her. Anna found her hand and held it, thrilling when Elsa squeezed, showing Anna how much pleasure she made her feel.

Then with her other hand, Anna lowered her fingers slowly through Elsa's folds down to her core and slid one inside. Her finger went so deep, encased in wetness and heat; Anna slid a second one in with a delicious slick sound as it was accepted.

"Elsa, you feel so good inside!" Anna said, and now she knew the secret heat of this precious place, she felt complete again, just as she had done when Elsa did the same for her.

Elsa couldn't shape her cries of pleasure into a reply, but now she knew why Anna had made so much noise before; this really was amazing, Elsa felt almost as if she was melting and reforming at the same time, all from Anna's touch.

Anna watched Elsa's blushing features beneath her while she stroked her inner walls and the desire to taste her, too, took hold, so she lowered herself and leaned down to lick the sensitive nub of pleasure at the apex of Elsa's folds, discovering the sweet tang of her to be truly delicious.

"Anna...! You... I - !"

Whatever meaning Elsa intended was swallowed by her pleasure, but Anna knew she was all right because they still held hands, Elsa's sweat mingling with her own. She kept stroking Elsa's womanhood with her fingers and her tongue while Elsa's cries above her rose higher until, in the most intimate moment of Anna's life, the fingers of both her hands were squeezed.

Elsa shuddered, trembled, and her voice was as Anna had never heard it before; she thought she caught her own name in Elsa's cries and Anna was so proud to be the one to love and be loved by Elsa.

When Anna judged it had passed, she raised her head to look at Elsa and was amazed by the sight, as Anna was every time she saw her, though now more than ever, in this special moment. The fingers of her free hand were tangled in her long blonde hair and her blush was fading, her breathing returning to normal. Elsa gave a final gasp as Anna slid her fingers out of her, dripping with her essence, and Anna succumbed to the urge to taste her, licking the drops of liquid and savouring them.

Elsa relaxed completely and looked up at Anna. She let her arms fall limply by her sides, leaving Anna's hand numb from her grasp of passion when she let it go. The fire had burned down low, but Elsa and Anna's love burned brighter than ever.

"Are you all right?" Anna asked, leaning over her.

"I've never been so happy in all my life," Elsa replied, raising her hands to fondly cradle the back of Anna's head and pull her into an embrace. "Because I love you, Anna."

"And I love you, Elsa," Anna whispered before joining their lips and kissing her again, their sweet tastes mingling on each other's tongues. Neither of them could have been happier.

While Elsa and Anna tasted the fruits of love for the first of many times, all their parents had gathered together to drink the health of the happy couple from their master's own supply of wine.

The lord and lady of the land congratulated the parents and conversed with them in a rare blending of class boundaries. The stern, red-haired man and his pale, careworn wife were finely-dressed but rarely smiled, and as the night went on and the wine kept flowing, Gerda, Kai and Olaf found out why.

Surprising everyone around, the mistress suddenly burst into tears, her piteous sobs echoing around the chamber. When Gerda came to her side and held her hands while she cried, she began to let go of what was on her mind.

"You're lucky to have such beautiful daughters," the lady said. "I'd give anything for a daughter as precious as one of yours... Our riches are worth nothing to us now... We were poor once and thought we'd lose all of this." She paused and gestured around the room and all their wealth. "We almost had to sell our land, and we already had four children... So when I had another, we didn't want to raise her in poverty..." Her tears consumed her for a few moments before she could continue. "We left her out in the wilderness to save her from growing up to starve... And her sister after. Then we grew rich again, but money is no compensation. I would have wanted them to be happy, like your daughters."

She collapsed in misery again and her husband had the final words, his voice hollow and his face distraught. "It was the worst decision we ever made," he said. "The memories will never stop haunting us." He left his seat by Olaf's side to go to his wife.

Gerda noticed the ring she wore, the stone in it blue and sparkling, the twin of Elsa's; and the brooch that pinned her husband's cape, just like Anna's...

Their master helped his wife to bed and bade the rest goodnight, leaving his butler to show the guests out.

Olaf, Gerda and Kai began their walk home through the dim twilight of the summer night, talking as they went; the three may have led simple lives but they were not simple-minded.

"They're sisters! And daughters of our master and mistress!" Gerda said, when their discussion concluded.

"Thinking about it now, their history, and their looks... "Kai mused. "His red hair, her blue eyes, just like Anna and Elsa."

"Did you see the jewels they had?" Olaf asked. "It just makes sense! But we can't tell Elsa or Anna, or anyone at all. Not now they're married and so happy together."

Silence descended on the trio, remaining while they passed the shrine. Neither ever mentioned it afterwards, but at that moment, Kai, Gerda and Olaf each glimpsed three figures standing outside the sacred cave, though with a single blink of their eyes, the vision was gone again.

The knowledge of their adopted daughters' origins was a secret between them and the nymphs. Anna and Elsa shared a blood bond, something deeper than mere love. Fate had deprived them of their birthright, but they had been given a new one; each other, closer than a sister, closer than a wife, together they were complete.

Their parents forgot what they had learned, because on some occasions, ignorance is bliss.

Elsa and Anna lived rural harmony, tending the land, their sheep and the shrines, close to the Divines and close to each other, together forever, as they had sworn in their oaths when their love was just beginning, and their lives were blessed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise incest! When I read the original story of Daphnis and Chloe, I was expecting the couple to be revealed as siblings, so I did that with this adaptation. I hope you don't mind too much, the incest never bothered me anyway.
> 
> This ended up much longer than I had planned and I'm still not entirely sure whether the adaptation worked, but oh well.


	14. Midas

Queen Elsa ruled a war-torn kingdom. She and her people knew no different, it had been so for generations and was just another part of life in Arendelle, a country of forests, mountains, fjords and a folk who had learned to survive through their love of the land.

This love was in Elsa's mind while she climbed alone through the wooded hillsides in the north of her realm. But the Queen found that the further away she went, the more her thoughts would return to the city.

She paused to look back where a break in the trees revealed a view of the castle, her home, and the countless houses of her subjects, the people she cared for. The city where the woman she loved was ruling in Elsa's brief absence, holding court and hearing the citizens' concerns. Anna had the warmest, kindest heart in the whole kingdom, along with all of Elsa's trust and adoration, so she could tell that all was well for now. She was glad beyond words to have Anna as her wife and knew that down in the city she herself would be missed just as much, that Anna would be feeling a faint tugging in her head and heart, too, until they were together again. She turned ahead once more, knowing she would return in a few hours, but Elsa's mind was still focused behind.

The city and the castle from whence the young Queen ruled had been built to withstand all that the elements could throw at them, and all that mankind could invent; it had been built by strong people whose descendants now survived while enemies from the Southern Isles came on ships to burn, to conquer the country that had defied them for so long.

Arendelle's army defended the land while the brave navy patrolled the coasts and fjord, subduing most of the fierce southern forces before they even arrived.

And the land itself assisted its people. The fjord sheltered the city and beyond it, black rocks stood guard against the cold sea, perilous to any who did not know the waters well.

Though there was only one true defence against the foe. All attacks ceased in winter when the seas froze and the Southern Isles wordlessly called a temporary truce to turn their minds towards simply surviving the elements, which hit them harder on their islands, cutting off all routes of trade and assault for a few months of welcome respite.

But now the spring had come, light and colour replaced the grey, dark days and nights, bringing hope for most of the world, yet not for Arendelle.

The trees all around Elsa proudly displayed new leaves and blossoms while birdsong chorused in the branches above. Below, flowers covered the forest floor with colours, and the streams of meltwater from the mountains made soft, sweet music; it was all undeniably beautiful. The sights and sounds should have eased her mind, but they did not.

Elsa's sources had reported that a new attack was imminent, that the Southern Isles had assembled a new fleet, bigger than every one before, ready to sail any day now. All Arendelle braced itself. Fear swept through the populace, more chilling than the winter winds that had now departed.

Yet hope had not deserted the land, because Arendelle's greatest strength was its rulers; Kings and Queens whose bravery and wisdom, beauty and power had been refined on the battlefield and in council, passed down from parent to child until the present day, and Elsa was the most beautiful and powerful of all.

Elsa led her people nobly, and they thrived. She had ascended to the throne at a young age and any weaker woman would have failed, but Elsa was a born leader; with her consort Anna by her side, there was nothing Elsa could not do.

Throughout everything, Elsa was pious, always honouring the gods and goddesses; she knew it was more important than anything to respect the Divines who made the world and controlled all that went on in it. Elsa and her beloved Anna had sacrificed their own resources and time, scarce with the war, and commissioned a temple on the North Mountain.

Elsa had designed it herself and the small but elegant stone structure stood just above the snow line. Its steepled roof and stained-glass windows were in shades of blue, while the interior was painted pure white and decorated with murals and statues depicting the deity to whom the temple was dedicated; the Goddess of Winter, the patron goddess of Arendelle.

As she set eyes on it now, satisfaction stirred in Elsa's soul at having created something so beautiful for the glory of the goddess, and even though she herself would leave this world some day, her work would remain here for many years to come.

The temple had stood complete for just one day and Elsa was the first to set foot in the virgin sanctuary. To perform the first rites was the reason she had come, and as Queen, she had the right to do so. Elsa felt it was her duty, and the place was personal to her, which was why Elsa had come alone.

She was dressed in all her regal finery, though she had forgone her usual dress for a stately uniform displaying gold epaulettes and medals, with slim-fitting breeches more practical that day to climb the mountain quickly. But her long blonde hair was loose for that feminine beauty Elsa loved so much, and the outfit was completed by her elegant crown and dark suede gloves.

The only eyes observing Elsa's loveliness were the invisible, omnipotent eyes of the Divines, watching while she lit the candles by the statue. For it was not only duty that brought Elsa there on that particular day, it was also destiny.

The Queen bowed down in the sanctuary, her breath misting in this place where winter reigned. She did not pray, she did not beseech, she simply stayed there, feeling the Divine presence gather while the invisible but powerful door now opened, transforming the building into a place of worship, where prayers would be heard, gifts and vows exchanged.

Something shifted in the air, almost tangible, and Elsa felt it, saw it in the flickering candle flames and the fog of her breath that seemed to swirl. She was not alone.

A voice more gentle than the year's first snowfall yet with the force of an untameable blizzard sounded all around her, echoing off every surface, including herself, her consciousness.

"Queen Elsa."

Elsa raised herself at the summons and turned to see a woman facing her, the living image of the statues. The goddess was fair, inhumanly pale. Her white hair and gown rippled though there was no wind, and seemed to contain all colours in the light that glowed from them, eerily beautiful. The force radiating from her was so strong that Elsa felt it in her soul and it stunned her so she could not reply, just listen to the goddess who now spoke to her; something Elsa had never even dreamed would happen.

"Few are so pious as you," she said. "You need my help, though you did not even ask and instead built this beautiful temple for me with a pure heart, requesting nothing in return. So now, Elsa, you will be rewarded for your worship. I do not give favours to just anyone but I'll grant you one wish; I know you will not choose foolishly."

The smile the goddess bestowed on her was enough of a gift, so bright that Elsa had to avert her eyes, though she found this aided her in making her decision, distracted from the goddess' Divine splendour.

Elsa's keen mind turned immediately to the coming year, the impending attack, and after a moment's cogitation, she knew what to ask for.

"Thank you, Divine One," said Elsa. "I wish for the power to prolong the winter, to freeze things with a touch and cover them in ice."

The goddess smiled again in answer and took hold of Elsa's hands, raising them almost to her lips before blowing a breath of cold air so chill Elsa could feel it through her gloves, though it did not harm her. A glow arose around Elsa, she felt her hair flowing, lifted by the same force that generated a blinding light, dissipating at almost the same second it appeared, and when the shapes around her resolved themselves into the inside of the temple once again, the goddess had gone.

But she had left something of her mystical presence behind; Elsa felt different, though she could not say how.

She left the temple, securing the door behind her, yet she paused in the green spring sunlight filtering down through the trees. Before continuing the journey home, she wanted proof that the otherworldly experience she had just witnessed was not the work of her imagination. After removing her gloves and placing them in her pocket, Elsa raised her hands to examine them. They didn't look any different, still pale and graceful, her wedding ring the only adornment. Though she thought they felt a little different, but it could just have been the outdoor air on her bare skin...

To test whether she had indeed been blessed with powers, Elsa bent down beside a small brook of meltwater and lowered her hand towards it, letting a slender finger touch the liquid.

The water felt no different, wet and cool on her fingertip. But the next moment it changed. Something... some kind of  _energy_  formed from Elsa's touch and froze the water solid, leaving beautiful ripples of ice glinting in the sunlight. Elsa stared in disbelief at the shining silvery ribbon spreading through the forest floor and, moving like she was in a dream, reached out to touch the shimmering form. The stream was hard, most definitely frozen, and she had done it.

Just to be sure, Elsa stood up and wandered over to the nearest tree, keeping her eyes fixed on the ice stream as if it would disappear when she looked away. The second her palm touched the bark, a layer of rime covered the trunk, extending from Elsa's hand, up to every branch and every leaf, soon shifting into thick ice, blue and shimmering. The leaves ceased to move in the breeze, but her heart raced when she realised what power she possessed, and Elsa rejoiced.

A sense of hurry took hold of her, Elsa could scarcely contain her hopes that the war was over after so many years, and she would be the one to end it. When Elsa ran down through the forest, she really did appreciate the nature around her; the beauty of spring was no threat now the power of winter was hers to wield, now that she could protect her beautiful land and all the people in it.

She reached the shore of the fjord on the outskirts of the city, away from observers so she would not be disturbed. The Queen knelt by the fjord and placed both her hands on the surface of the water. Elsa felt the shift in energy - stronger this time since it was a much larger space she was freezing, bigger than everything before - and solid ice spread from her fingers, right out to the horizon.

The fjord was secured, the Southern Isles' ships were blocked. No fleet could sail, no armies pass the mountains bordering her land; Arendelle was safe. Soon the enemy would be forced to make peace with Elsa and put the conflict in the past. Just like that, all Arendelle's problems had been solved, or so she thought.

Back to the city she went, pride in every footstep, a different woman to the Queen who had left, with hope in her heart thanks to her new power. In the castle courtyard, guards gathered the frightened citizens - already scared by the threat of attack and now confused by the freezing of the fjord - to hear Queen Elsa's explanation.

"Everyone," Elsa began simply in her joy, with her hands clasped together. "The war is over! Our goddess, the protector of this land, gave me a gift to save us." She thought her words wouldn't be enough, that her citizens would not believe because magic and Divine blessings were the stuff of legends, so Elsa reached out to touch one of the fountains that stood nearby, freezing the water as soon as she touched it, transforming it into beautiful curving shapes, like crystalline lilies.

Cheers and awed gasps arose from the crowd while word spread quicker than wildfire. Immediately, the whole city left their homes and congregated for an impromptu festival, celebrating their salvation, the goddess who had given it and the Queen who had been blessed.

Time went by in a whirl. Councillors, servants and citizens surrounded Elsa, amazed by what they had seen, and she celebrated with them, until the Queen's eyes were drawn to the face in the crowd that meant the most to her.

Anna was unmistakable amidst the multitude of people, with her bright red hair and blue-green eyes, giving Elsa a look full of pride and love. They had barely seen each other all day, but now Anna had walked through the crowd and stood beside her, brushing her lips to Elsa's in a quick, chaste kiss before they were ushered to a banquet, hastily prepared by all the townsfolk. Servants guided the royal couple to the head of the table and set dishes before them.

Elsa reached out to take a drink and ease her thirst, because in her hurry and joy, she had neither eaten nor drunk since the morning. Her fingertips brushed the goblet, but a second later it was not metal she touched but solid ice; her power had frozen both the goblet and the wine inside so it looked like a sculpture, something unreal.

She glanced over at Anna, who remained deep in conversation with a woman seated at her side, neither had noticed Elsa's mistake. Hastily, she hid the ice goblet under the table. Why it had happened was a mystery to Elsa, she hadn't wanted to freeze it so she did not understand the ice's sudden appearance.

Hesitantly, Elsa took a piece of chocolate from a pile upon a plate and dropped it in shock. Now a solid lump of ice, it clattered on the table. Mercifully, no one saw, but that did not stop Elsa's heart thudding loudly in her ears.

She decided to try one final time to confirm whether her fear was true, and immediately after Elsa touched an apple by its stalk, the red flesh changed to silvery blue and it struck her that she could no longer eat or drink.

Nobody had noticed, all this happened so fast and Elsa concealed her panic well. She stopped herself mid-movement before she touched the table, Elsa couldn't risk sending ice down its length and frightening all the people who trusted her. Instead she steadied herself on the arms of the chair while she stood on shaking legs, coating it in ice the moment her hands made contact. The power froze everything she touched and there was no way to stop it!

Elsa had to leave before something bad happened. "Excuse me," she said to her kingdom in general while hurrying away from the crowded table.

"Your Majesty, are you all right?" a noblewoman asked, her eyes wide.

Elsa avoided her concerned touch, and Anna's eyes when she sensed them on her.

"Elsa!" her wife called, springing up from her seat.

But Elsa did not answer, she ran. She didn't want others to fear her as she now feared herself, didn't want them to know that she could not control the ice touch. Elsa wished only to escape from her power and for a little peace to figure out what to do.

She headed to the castle, emptied by the festivities; everyone was out rejoicing in the spring sunshine so Elsa hoped she'd be alone.

Her fingers met the familiar wood and stone in the doorway of her home, but in the blink of an eye the sight she knew so well was encased in ice, changed to something chilling and uncanny. Elsa pulled her hand away in horror and ran inside while the cold blue element covered the castle, freezing the stone walls solid and reaching up to the roof.

She dashed through the open doors of the Great Hall, slamming them shut behind her, then watched, powerless, while blue streaks of ice formed where her hands had been, consuming the whole room.

Elsa backed away across the hall, watching the ice with tear-clouded eyes until she reached the throne of her ancestors.

That throne had seated Arendelle's Kings and Queens for countless centuries and had been carved with runes of heritage by long-dead hands. It contained an ancient power that Elsa felt whenever she sat on it. But the wood still froze the second she touched it.

Her legs refused to support her anymore, forcing Elsa to sit on the seat of ice. She brought her hands to her face; tears of fear froze and fell like crystals when they touched her skin. Elsa had never imagined anything like this when she made her wish that morning.

The silence, broken only by her shuddering breaths, was shattered when the doors burst open, scattering ice shards that chimed when they hit the floor.

"Elsa?"

She lifted her head at the sound of the voice she cherished, stirring her heart and soul with love for her wife. Elsa had known Anna would try to follow her, nothing could keep them apart for long and, deep down in her despondency, Elsa knew that Anna would do all she could to help.

"Elsa! There you are!" Anna called, cautiously crossing the hall, treading carefully on the floor that was now covered with ice. "What's going on?"

Anna was the one person in all the world who could never fail to bring a smile to Elsa's face and give her courage and hope from her own seemingly endless source of optimism, as Elsa had experienced so often in recent years. And Anna could pull her from even this panic, Elsa had no doubt.

"Anna!" Her voice betrayed just how afraid Elsa really was, along with all her love and desperation to feel Anna's arms around her; her embrace was the only place Elsa truly felt safe. And that safety would soothe her in the fear and chaos of her thoughts while the ice surrounded them.

Elsa got up from the throne and went to her beloved wife, the strength inside her returning with each step she took towards Anna.

They met in the centre of the hall, blue and unrecognisable from the room it had been mere hours before, but the freckled face Elsa saw in front of her was just the same, just as beautiful as ever. Anna's breath turned to mist when it left her lips and her cheeks were pink with the cold that must have been everywhere, yet Elsa felt it no longer.

Not even a moment's hesitation went by before they touched; Anna was living, unlike all the things Elsa had turned to ice, the power wouldn't work on  _her_. And the need, the instinct to touch her outshone all else in Elsa's mind.

Their hands joined. Anna's skin was as soft as always, and warm, like the affection Elsa could see in her blue-green gaze. But the next instant, spreading from Elsa's touch, Anna's entire body froze, turning into solid ice before her eyes. Her many colours changed to blue, her loving look was frozen while Elsa watched, powerless to stop it.

"Anna!" Elsa cried, and pulled her hand away, but it was already too late. The realisation hit her like an avalanche of despair and made her legs weaken, giving way to the abyss of misery that was a life without Anna and the guilt that she had caused it. Pain stabbed in her chest, stopping Elsa's breath, like something clutched her heart.

She fell down on her knees, clinging to the immovable form that had been her wife and feeling tears flood her face, sobs shake her body. When her silent pleadings were not answered, Elsa let go of Anna and raised her hands to the heavens, though the sky was obscured by ice and frozen stone; she prayed aloud.

"Goddess, the gift you gave me has become a curse! Please take it away, please undo my wish! Please..." Her voice echoed around the hall, her tone broken, sounding as weak and as small as Elsa felt by the end of her prayer.

Nothing happened for what felt like the longest time and it struck her that she was truly alone. Anna was gone. The only comfort Elsa had left was the shape of her wife, the exquisite icy form of the beauty she had been. She stood and threw her arms around Anna, knowing she could not hurt her again; all the damage was done.

Anna felt so solid and cold in her hands, but Elsa was numb, all hope within her lost, her strength and will to live diminishing with every heartbroken sob that forced itself from inside her.

Elsa's first thought when the body in her arms suddenly started to move was that her sanity had left her, too. Breath blew softly in her ear and arms wrapped her waist in a tight embrace.

There was warmth again, there was softness. Elsa wasn't alone anymore, the life force that she loved so much had been restored; Anna had thawed.

Her body shifted, as if by instinct, out of the embrace. Elsa's hands were drawn to the bare skin of Anna's arms and she let them remain there, though nothing happened. Had her power been taken away? Elsa's eyes traced the familiar and beloved route from Anna's arms to her face, both equally freckled and beautiful. Now colour had returned to her, and movement, too; her ginger lashes glittered in the light each time she blinked and her eyes searched Elsa's face as if in confusion, but Elsa still had to confirm that she was unharmed.

"Anna?" was all she could utter.

"Elsa..." Anna replied, still looking at her wife with a smile of slight perplexity, until her eyes left Elsa's to stare over her shoulder and a shocked gasp left her lips.

Elsa turned, letting her hands fall from Anna's skin, breaking their physical bond for the moment, but she jumped in surprise after following Anna's gaze.

The goddess had descended again, and her name spoken by that Divine voice was just as beautiful as it had sounded seconds before on the lips of her mortal wife.

"Elsa, you must learn to control your power and live with the choice you made," she said, her voice sending cold shivers up Elsa's spine, like the last time she had heard it. "You have the power to freeze, and also to thaw."

"How...?" Elsa asked, finding her own voice, though it was still weak from her despair.

"Love is the answer," the Winter Goddess simply replied. "Anna will help; there is enough love between you to thaw an eternal winter!" Her hair shimmering like frost, floating as if lifted by a winter breeze, the goddess came to the two mortal women and took one hand from each with both of hers, bringing them together to entwine their fingers.

The goddess' touch was akin to the tingling felt when coming home out of the cold to a warm hearth in Midwinter, and just as ethereal. Though Elsa and Anna felt a force of equal power and sublimity in each other's touch; the love they shared, visible in the spark of the other's eyes when their gazes met.

"But what - ?" Anna began, yet when she turned back to where the goddess stood, her graceful presence had gone.

"Anna, I'm so sorry," Elsa said, hesitantly squeezing her hand, still nervous of the magic. "I didn't know I would... freeze you." She was nearly in tears again with the memory, but Anna's words put her partially at ease.

"It didn't hurt, it didn't feel like  _anything_. One moment I was standing there and the next, your arms were around me; it seemed like time just... skipped. I don't feel any different," she explained, with a reassuring smile.

"You don't look any different," added Elsa, smiling fondly at her precious wife. "You're still just as beautiful."

Anna's own grin widened while she lowered her eyes coyly from Elsa's intense gaze.

"But I'm sorry," Elsa repeated, pausing while she tried to find words to tell of the agony she had felt, and the love for Anna that moved her soul so much. Though words could not express either of those mighty emotions, so Elsa conveyed them in the language of love. She brought her lips to each blushing cheek before kissing Anna's smiling mouth.

"Don't be," Anna said with a sweet sigh after their blissful kiss had finished. "Everyone was worried about you... I was, most of all."

Her beloved wife's selfless words left Elsa speechless, that Anna loved her even after what she had just done... So Elsa replied to Anna with only an adoring look, truly thankful for everything.

When the long moment between them had passed, Elsa broke the still, cold silence, remembering that, since she now had the power to reverse her magic, she should do it.

"I had better try and thaw this place," she said, uncertainly, and led Anna to the nearest wall, blue and shining with thick ice.

Elsa placed her palm upon the wall, where she let it remain for a few seconds while nothing happened. She could feel the smoothness of the ice and sensed its chill, so it seemed not only her touch alone would thaw it. Then she concentrated on the love flowing from Anna through her hand where they were joined; it was an awesome force, though not the only love in Elsa's life. She felt it flowing through her veins in the blood of her ancestors, the love for her land and her people, almost as strong as her love for Anna.

The ice retracted at the same speed in which it had appeared hours or minutes before; Elsa did not know, she lost all sense of time and space in the swirling patterns that formed and dissolved, glittering particles whirling upwards from all around and disappearing. Elsa was only conscious of Anna squeezing her hand, uttering exclamations of wonder and delight at the magical sight.

Too soon, yet not soon enough, the Great Hall was restored to normal. And now came the time that Elsa had been dreading ever since she realised she would have to face it. Leaving the private world containing just herself, Anna and her magic, they walked through the rest of the castle, the hallways now unchanged from the way they had been throughout their lifetimes.

Anna and Elsa pushed open the castle's grand main doors to see a crowd waiting wide-eyed in the courtyard, confusion almost palpable in their very presence.

Elsa knew they were shocked by seeing the sudden freeze and thaw of the castle, and by her running away, their Queen who was always so dependable. The hum of voices dulled to an expectant hush, all eyes were on Elsa, stirring nervousness within her, something she had never truly felt until now. She cleared her throat briefly, preparing to speak and explain to everyone the revelation she had received.

Anna must have sensed her tenseness because with a squeeze of her hand she gave Elsa all she needed. "I'm right here," Anna said in a reassuring whisper.

Elsa wished she would never have to look away from those eyes; the love in them she saw inspired the same love in herself and brought a smile to her lips - a power that Anna had always wielded over her that was just as strong as Elsa's Divine gift - and it let her turn to the awaiting faces of her populace with a look of confidence.

"I know you all must feel scared about what has happened today," said Elsa, finding it easier than she had expected to talk of her experiences; just Anna's company was enough to comfort her. "And I was scared myself, for a time," she continued. "But now I know the gift I was given is powerful magic. It will stay with me forever and I can control it; I promise I would  _never_  use it to hurt any of you."

"There's no need to fear her," Anna added, feisty in her defensive love for her wife. "Elsa's not dangerous."

To show and prove what they both said was true, Elsa left Anna's touch to take a few steps forward. The crowd parted to make way for her, though whether out of fear or respect for their Queen, she could not tell just yet.

Her fingertips brushed the frozen surface of the fountain and with that faint touch, the ice melted, returning to its natural state in a magical display of blue light that twinkled with the transformation, seeming to last both seconds and hours at the same time - like the thaw of the castle that they had all witnessed - until the shimmering water's light melody was drowned out by cheers and applause from the astounded, awestruck citizens.

The tension had been lifted in her kingdom, both that of the war and the magic; old and new threats solved in a single day. Peace and happiness had been restored. But the tension inside the Queen was not quite gone.

Elsa found herself reaching into her pocket to retrieve her gloves. She slipped them on, the smooth fabric fitting tightly to her skin and providing protection from any unexpected appearance of her power, even if she told herself there was no cause for fear anymore.

Despite that, relief surrounded Elsa as the gloves surrounded her slender hands and she felt much better, though she felt even better still when Anna linked her arm. They could continue their life together now, with the love of each other and their citizens to rebuild the kingdom and thrive now the land was safe.

She left the fjord frozen as it was, even if it meant the city's fishermen could not leave to reap the harvest of its rich waters; there were many more sources of food in Arendelle. Elsa would thaw the water when the Southern Isles were ready to amend their cruel and foolish ways. The war was over all but officially, and in the time that Elsa had bought, both lands could work on peace treaties, terms to ensure no conflict would begin again and end the threats for every future generation.

In the meantime, the sky had begun to redden with evening light already when the curious crowd finished its questioning and dispersed.

Anna and Elsa returned to their own home, now thawed and populated with servants again, and tried to resume a normal routine. They dined together on soup, roast and ice cream, both wives' favourite meal. Each lost herself in her beloved's eyes across the table and almost forgot all that had happened in the pure pleasure of just being together;  _almost_ , because Elsa still wore gloves and would not let Anna caress her covered hands for very long. The sensation of each other's skin was one both of them dearly missed, but Elsa did not push herself and Anna did not insist, since the issue did not prevent either one enjoying their time together.

Afterwards, with no war councils for them both to attend now the threat was annulled, Elsa sat with Anna in the library late into the night, reading books they had been prevented from perusing for a very long time.

They read silently to themselves and aloud to each other, curled up on the couch by the fireplace. The heat of the flames warmed Elsa on one side, while the other half was comforted by the warmth of Anna's body leaning on her. But something was subtly different about the way these temperatures felt to her, something Elsa suspected originated from her power. Elsa could sense the magic in her mind and body, a constant presence, not quite unpleasant, just unfamiliar.

Reading helped her to relax, and soon Elsa's eyes began to tire; the soft sounds of the fire and Anna's breath beside her, along with the soothing warmth all around made Elsa realise how weary this day had made her, in body and in mind.

Going to bed with Anna was always what Elsa looked forward to most at the end of the day. No matter what stresses she had to deal with in her life, as long as she had the pleasure of Anna's soft, warm form lying beside her, Anna's kisses and caresses, her sweet embraces, Elsa could cope with anything.

But now she was conflicted; the ever-present longing to make love with Anna was still strong in Elsa, though now the fear of hurting her again accompanied it, despite the Divine guidance she had received.

Elsa gazed at her beloved wife, the way the orange light of the flames - dull when compared to her bright tresses - flickered on her face, and a strange jealousy stirred in Elsa that the firelight could touch Anna's skin when she dared not...

A huge adorable yawn escaped from Anna's mouth and she tensed against Elsa's side, stretching all her body before nuzzling into her wife's neck. "I think it's time we went to bed," she murmured.

The heat of her breath on Elsa's skin sent shivers from where Anna's lips so nearly brushed it, all the way to her core, and Elsa could only agree. She took both of the books they had been reading and returned them to their places on the shelves, her gloved fingers lingering on the covers that could not be harmed by her touch.

Yet her instinctual love for Anna would not let Elsa be apart from her for very long, so she offered her arm to her wife and led Anna through the quiet castle, up the stairs to their room.

The royal bedchamber had never looked so inviting, the lamps had been lit for them, casting a warm light over the crisp, fresh sheets, waiting for her and Anna to disturb their snow-like immaculacy.

Elsa turned to lock the door, to ensure their privacy for the night, then caught herself delaying again and stepped over to join Anna. She had spent the evening in celebratory finery, unlike Elsa who had not dressed for dinner, remaining in the uniform she had worn all day. She could tell that Anna had noticed this change in her routine, and now saw slight confusion in her eyes when Elsa didn't move to undress her, as she loved to do.

A little awkward moment went by, Anna stood there expectantly, and Elsa undressed her only with her eyes until she lowered them and took off her crown, ready to undress herself instead. Elsa removed her heavy coat, with its epaulettes and medals of state. Once she had been freed from its weight, she stood a little taller while she undid her shirt, revealing her flawless white skin to Anna, inch by beautiful inch. Elsa then unbuttoned her breeches, slowed with her dexterity impeded by the gloves. She pushed the garments off her hips and down her legs, her underwear, too, so she was standing naked in front of her wife.

All her clothes were left crumpled on the floor and Elsa did not care because she was watching Anna, her eyes drawn back to her beauty like magnets.

Anna's dress was green and pink, complementing her freckles and her blush, though nowhere near as stunning as her naked body underneath. She gave a little sigh of relief when the fabric dropped to the floor; the dresses she and Elsa both owned were beautiful, but usually uncomfortable and only served to disguise the true beauty of their bodies.

Looking at her then, she would never have guessed that Anna had been frozen just hours before. Everything about her was exactly the same and Elsa took a step closer to admire her in wonder.

Now Anna had taken her dress and jewellery off, Elsa could see that even the lovebite she had left on Anna's neck the previous night had been restored with the rest of her. But the small purplish mark did not diminish the loveliness of her pink, freckled skin; it was a memory of the passions Anna inspired in Elsa, passions that a goddess had said could thaw an eternal winter...

Their eyes met and with that meeting came the need to tell Anna the way she made her feel, it was already coming out in Elsa's expression, the smile tugging at her lips so much that she could even feel the grin reach the corners of her eyes; a smile of genuine joy. Though Elsa was restricted by what she could express to Anna with inadequate words. "You look beautiful."

Still, it seemed her words had some power because they made a blush blossom in Anna's cheeks while she toyed with her hands, almost like they were courting again.

The next moment, those hands had laced together behind Elsa's shoulders and they stood face to face.

Elsa's hands clenched, she fought the instinct to hold Anna close and stroke the curve of her spine, the dimples beneath and the firm softness even lower... Yet she kept them by her sides and looked down at both their bodies, their breasts almost touched, but both the freckled and pale feminine flesh was separated by a few centimetres of air, though it seemed almost a chasm to Elsa when she looked now.

She moved her eyes lower down their bodies to the hair of their womanhoods opposite each other, copper and gold, but both concealing equally precious treasures. Elsa's admiration was soon interrupted when Anna's beautiful freckled face filled her vision, and all sensations were eclipsed by Anna's lips on her own.

Anna leaned in for an experimental kiss, she knew Elsa's mind was not quite there, even though her heart was, as always; Anna had no doubt. And in that quick brush of their lips, Elsa kissed her back, confirming all Anna's beliefs. The want in Elsa's eyes was so strong after she pulled away, a want that never left or faded, even after their few years of marriage, it was stronger than ever. Anna felt it within her, drawing them together, and in that pause between their kisses, Elsa's breath on her moist lips triggered tingles in every part of her body.

Elsa couldn't hold back and renewed their kiss fervently, putting more passion into her lips now she could not touch Anna with her hands. It still felt just the same. The sensation of two women joining together in body and soul with hunger, desire and love, love overall... too beautiful for even Elsa's mind to find the words.

Everything, kissing Anna, the sound of their breaths and mouths meeting, the scent of Anna's skin, how her lips tasted, the wet touch of her tongue; all the familiar feelings surrounded and engulfed Elsa, all as intoxicating as the first time she had felt their pleasure.

Anna guided her, pulling with a force of pure lust that might have taken Elsa by surprise if she had not seen it before; her beloved wife, normally so endearingly clumsy, was now focused and ardent in her arousal. She pulled Elsa onto the bed, her red hair spread out beneath her on the pillow while Elsa looked in awe from above.

Anna's body was a wonder, panting and blushing below her own, her eyes seeming dark green with desire. To know that  _she_  was doing this to Anna, no matter how many times she had experienced it, Elsa still almost couldn't believe it, that she possessed the power to awaken such longing in the woman she loved.

But Elsa had to summon all her willpower to keep from touching Anna... If she could touch, she would have massaged those pert, freckled breasts, teased those half-stiffened nipples into full hardness and sensitivity... If she could touch, she would have stroked the wetness hidden within the patch of red hair between those toned legs opening for her now. Elsa knew and remembered how every inch of Anna felt on her fingertips, though memories were nothing compared to the reality, the many subtleties of sweet scents, flavours and textures that were the wonders of Anna.

Elsa's deep blue eyes held a hunger, a passion Anna had seen countless times before and loved to arouse in her normally regal wife, a fevered need that consumed Elsa, and Anna, too, in turn, spreading from her touch. Yet that touch had still not come.

Anna watched Elsa's heavy-lidded gaze linger on everywhere her hands weren't touching; the valley of her breasts, the plain of her stomach and the hidden secrecy between her legs to which only Elsa had access... That gaze told Anna everything: that Elsa wanted her, as she always had done and always would, and the knowledge made Anna's soul sing.

It struck her again as a rush of heat from her heart, swirling around and reaching every nerve-ending in her being with the reality of just how much she adored Elsa, and how perfect she was. Perfect even with her power; it made her more unique, though Anna knew that there was no one like Elsa in all the world, no one who could cherish Anna so much, no one who came close to this epitome of beauty that was her wife...

And the stunning sight of Elsa's beautiful face mere inches from her own - so close that she could see her faint freckles and every shade of blue that her eyes contained - utterly overwhelmed her and made Anna glad that she was already lying down because her limbs would not have supported her if she stood.

The heat between their bodies and lightly touching Anna's face with every one of Elsa's sweet breaths grew stronger inside, directing itself to Anna's most sensitive parts, her breasts, her core. She looked at Elsa's lips, daring them to kiss her, yet unsure whether to reach up herself and close the gap between their mouths, since the unspoken subject of Elsa's magic clearly still affected her.

Anna raised her gaze again to see the total devotion in those eyes and the desire un-faded. She saw the spark of decision in their blue depths and knew Elsa would do something any second now; Anna was ready for her, waiting, inviting...

Elsa's gloves were still on, she did not move to caress her but kissed her instead, and even though Anna craved her caress, the jumble of thoughts from the last few seconds dissolved in softness with the wet press of Elsa's lips and the urgency of her tongue licking at her own.

Elsa lay over her on the bed, her hands positioned either side of Anna's shoulders. She felt the sheets tighten beside her when Elsa's hands clenched. The blonde shifted positions until her thigh brushed Anna's centre in a way that made her breaths transform into sighs of pleasure struggling to escape over the entwining of their tongues and the moist sounds of their kiss.

They were touching intimately even without Elsa's hands, yet Anna did not let her wife's new inhibitions interfere with how she showed her own love and traced her fingertips down her spine, then in senseless patterns led by the pleasure that inspired her, simply losing herself in the sensual softness of Elsa's skin. Their acts were tender and intimate, but Anna knew something was not quite right in her wife's mind, even if the press of Elsa's lips said otherwise.

Elsa left her mouth, pausing in a moment filled with hot, mingled breath, then kissed the spot where Anna's neck met her shoulder, peppering kisses around the mark of passion her lips had left last night. It seemed like a lifetime ago, so much had changed and yet nothing had changed at all; every freckle was as perfect as it ever was. Elsa kissed her throat to  _feel_ the sound of Anna's pleasure, tones she would know anywhere. She could feel Anna's pleasure behind her, too, in the clench of her fingers on her back, the faintest dig of her nails.

She returned to Anna's mouth again, to dip her tongue in between those beloved lips and taste the unique sweetness of her. Everything about their entwined embrace was wonderful, more than wonderful, but not enough for either of them; Elsa broke the kiss, both to catch her breath and decide what to do.

Anna's breath came in quick pants against Elsa's face, closer and closer as she leaned in, desperate to renew their kiss; her body was taut, tensed, and only Elsa knew how to unravel her.

"Elsa..." she whispered, pleading. No one said her name quite like Anna did, the combination of sounds that described her being seemed to fit Anna's mouth and tongue to perfection. It tugged Elsa deep inside; Anna was precious, exquisite... Elsa almost killed her just hours ago.

She hesitated, shifting her hips again, but this time to break their embrace and sit beside Anna on the bed. "We should stop," Elsa said. "And we shouldn't have started. I want to touch you... but I can't." She stared at her gloved hands, the cause of all her misery. Despite the arousal throbbing within her core and the heat all around her body, there was still something at the edges of her senses that Elsa had never felt until today. "I can still feel the magic in me, in my hands... I can't touch you, Anna."

"Elsa, you won't hurt me," Anna insisted. "I love you! I love your hands, how your fingers feel when they're inside me..." She reached out to hold them, but saw Elsa flinch so Anna did not persist, though she continued to try and convince her with her words. "And I  _know_  you love me. The goddess said love will thaw, so as long as we're together you don't have to worry about your magic. I'm not afraid of you!"

"I'm afraid of myself," Elsa said, tears welling with her frustration. "When I woke up this morning I was normal, but now, there's this... force inside me that I don't understand, and I don't trust it not to... We've been so lucky already, I can't risk...  _that_  happening again."

Anna knew what "that" was, the ice power hurting her, even though she had already told Elsa that it had not hurt at all; the experience had clearly damaged Elsa more than it had herself.

Anna also knew, more than anything, that she needed Elsa, that Elsa needed to forget the accident and see all was still the same between them.

As if reading Anna's thoughts, Elsa shuffled closer to her and reached out like she was about to stroke Anna's face, but withdrew almost the second she began. "I'm sorry, Anna." Her voice lowered along with her eyes, focusing on nothing that Anna could see, though from her words it seemed to be her inner sense of self.

"What sort of Queen, what sort of  _wife_  can't pleasure the woman she loves?" Elsa ended in a whisper, truly crying now, and her head was bowed, the glitter of falling tears visible behind the blonde veil of her hair.

"Elsa... You don't have to apologise. And we don't have to do anything."

In the pause after Anna spoke, there was no pressure between them to continue. If Elsa truly felt no desire to make love with her that night, Anna would have let the matter drop. But she knew Elsa better than anyone, well enough to tell that the passion she sensed between them in their last kiss proved Elsa wanted her. And that passion would not fade quickly or easily. She decided to try one final time to check whether her instincts were correct.

"You know," Anna continued in her usual optimistic voice, with just a hint of sultriness to distract Elsa from her sadness. "You don't have to use your hands."

"I'll get too lost in you, Anna. I always do... I can't control myself when we..."

A little moment of blushing silence went by, and it appeared that Anna's distraction had worked; she could no longer hear the sound of Elsa crying, at least. The moment's pause also gave Anna an idea.

She leaned over the side of the bed to retrieve the red sash from Elsa's uniform, shorter than that of most such garments, since it had been tailored to encircle Elsa's slender waist.

Elsa lifted her head to watch her wife, curious to see what she had in mind.

"If it makes you feel better..." Anna took an end of the fabric in each hand. "We can make sure that you won't touch me."

Elsa silently agreed and nodded her acquiescence; her face had lit up when she realised what Anna intended to do, and her eyes shone, but not with tears anymore. She held her wrists together out in front of her, though she couldn't help but tense as Anna got closer.

A little rush of dominance stirred in Anna's psyche when she wrapped the sash round Elsa's wrists, though the two wives were always equal in their love, in every way, to each other's perfect satisfaction. Yet now Elsa had a power that almost killed her, and now Anna had tamed it, had been charged by the goddess to help control it. And even so, Anna still felt completely under Elsa's spell.

"Don't get too close to them," Elsa warned when she began to tie the ends of the garment together, coming so close to touching her hands; even with the gloves on, Elsa didn't want to take any chances.

Anna nodded and obeyed her, holding in her opinions and her lack of fear while she carefully avoided Elsa's fingers and formed a knot from the fabric, not too tight, but tight enough to keep her from moving her wrists apart.

Her gloved hands were bound together and Elsa held them at her chest, constrained until Anna chose to free her - which, of course, she would whenever Elsa asked - and for now, she had submitted herself to Anna's control, so they could both lose themselves in pleasure with each other tonight, no fear of magic, only love between them.

"I need your touch, Elsa," Anna said softly, more arousal stirred inside her at the power she felt within them both, power and love merged together so she could not tell them apart. Anna took hold of her shoulders and lay back on the bed, guiding Elsa.

She leaned over Anna, kneeling between her legs. A cascade of her long, light-blonde hair fell across her face and onto Anna's skin, but she couldn't push it out of the way, so the strands tickled her face and obscured her vision, rendering her helpless for a moment, feeling foolish.

Yet another moment later, Anna had tucked the tresses behind Elsa's ear with a slender finger, revealing her face to Elsa, smiling kindly.

"Anna," the blonde began, the heat newly arisen in her cheeks inspiring her to speak, and thankfully keeping her tears at bay for now.

"Hm?"

"Thank you. For everything. For still loving me, for letting me love you after what I did. And I promise that if we fix this - "

"When we fix this," Anna corrected.

" _When_  we fix this," repeated Elsa, trying truly to share Anna's confidence. "Everything will be back to normal, as if nothing ever changed."

"Elsa, nothing  _has_  changed! I still love you more than anything in all the world."

Moved beyond words by the love she saw in Anna's eyes, and the fact that this beautiful, devoted woman was her wife, Elsa lowered her own bound hands and closed the gap between their bodies as much as she could, crashing their lips together in passion.

Mingling their saliva, entwining their tongues, Elsa and Anna's kiss was heated, desperate and full of love; it opened the door to true passion for them that night.

She traced her tongue over every familiar, treasured texture of Anna's mouth, relishing the taste, the sound of their lips and tongues, the music of Anna's moans. Elsa left the hot, sweet moisture of her mouth for a split second, to renew her breath before taking Anna's bottom lip between her own and sucking at the soft flesh, though she released it when a wild, half-stifled moan came from deep within Anna and Elsa knew her wife was ready for more.

Slowly, letting her tongue caress every inch of skin that her lips enclosed, Elsa moved down Anna's body, adjusting herself so there was no chance of her hands getting free to touch or to damage the preciousness of Anna.

Elsa licked at her delicate chin, then traced a trail of hot, wet kisses over her throat for the second time that night, but now she took it slower, absorbing every sensation of Anna's soft skin, and she continued lower.

She let her tongue do what her fingers could not and licked the underside of Anna's breasts, feeling the yielding flesh with her lips in fervent kisses. Elsa moved up the mound of a breast, rising and falling rapidly with Anna's quickened breaths, until she reached the nipple. Teasing the sensitive flesh, she took the tip of the nipple between her teeth and pulled ever so lightly, releasing it when Anna gasped above.

Elsa could tell that even though she had not touched her wife with her hands, it was having the exact same effect; her body was tense where they touched as Elsa lowered her face again to fasten her lips over Anna's nipple, surrounding it with her hot mouth, suckling until Anna's moans shook from her arousal.

Before Elsa could give her other nipple the same treatment, Anna spread her legs, displaying herself, letting Elsa feel her inner warmth.

"Elsa... I need you," came Anna's desperate whisper, and when she lifted her gaze to look in those blue-green eyes, she saw a love and a hunger there that reassured her nothing had changed; Elsa knew not just from her words that Anna needed and wanted her more than anything, and pride stirred within her, inspiring Elsa to do her best for the wife she adored. Lingering around her navel and the smooth skin of her stomach, Elsa licked lower, but pulled back when her tongue reached the short, coppery hair of Anna's womanhood.

She pressed her lips around Anna's thighs and legs, kissing where she wanted to caress, working both of them up and building both their anticipations with every slow caress of her tongue, making Anna more sensitive when Elsa finally leaned in between her legs.

Anna's arousal was visible, and her wetness provoked wetness in Elsa's mouth; the sublime scent of her sex sent tingles to Elsa's own centre, all these amazing sensations reminding her just how much passion there was between them, so powerful she could not help but give in.

Elsa kissed her red hair, and the edge of the pinkness hidden within, making Anna writhe with every breath that Elsa exhaled against her. Now she would normally begin to hold Anna's lower lips apart with her fingers to fully access every fold, peek at the little bud at the top and stroke it with her tongue. She would normally enter Anna, too, and press the secret, hidden sweet spot in her core, caressing both Anna's pleasure points to drive her wild and make her shriek Elsa's name. Being inside her wife was so intimate, like they were joined together, but now they could be equally close in an intimacy Elsa enjoyed just as much.

With only her lips and tongue touching Anna's secret place, Elsa knew she would have to use all her skills to please her, and she also knew that her love and her mouth would never let her down, guided by experience and their connection. Squeezing her own hands tightly together, Elsa slowly extended her tongue into the beautiful wetness before her and when the taste of Anna greeted her after what seemed like a lifetime of changes, the beauty of it all brought Elsa to the verge of tears. Her thankfulness at being able to know that delicious taste again was overwhelming and she was reminded of the reality once more; she had almost lost Anna forever.

Changing all her gratitude into love, Elsa channelled that love into her tongue and expressed her adoration with a long, slow lick up Anna's slit. The flavour of her was just the same, a secret sweetness that was all Anna's own, and Elsa surrounded herself with it.

Her lips met Anna's lower ones in the most intimate kiss. Wonderful was the only way Elsa could describe the sensations; the honeyed essence covered her tongue until she was drunk on Anna, her taste in Elsa's mouth and her sighs in Elsa's ears, losing herself in the one she loved, just as they had both hoped and intended.

Elsa succumbed to the need to tell Anna how perfect she was, to use her tongue, newly anointed in her juices, to praise Anna as if she were a goddess; her salvation by an actual Divine had only made her seem more sacred in Elsa's eyes.

She lifted herself, a little light-headed, and glanced up to Anna's green-blue eyes in her blushing face. The moment their gazes joined, a jolt struck Elsa's heart that almost made her forget what she wanted to say, but she somehow found the words, though they came out more mumbled than she had meant.

"Have I told you I love the way you taste?" Her fingers twitched with the instinct to hold Anna's hand, though the restraint of the gloves and the bond reminded her only too well that she couldn't. Tears clouded Elsa's vision of the beautiful sight above her, but were willed away by Anna's words.

"Every night since we were wed," she said. And it was true, Elsa showed it not just in her speech but in her expression, the way she savoured Anna's essence on her fingers or her tongue... "I love the way you love me." Anna proved her pure affection with her own fingers and tenderly stroked Elsa's hair, letting her hand trail down to her wife's beautiful face.

Elsa leaned into her touch, the soft warm skin of palm and cheek brushing each other for a few sweet seconds until she turned her blue eyes and her attention down again.

Her hot tongue separated Anna's lower lips, probing lightly within her slit and Anna gripped the bed sheets in her fists when Elsa changed her movements, sucking her inner folds with little moans of enjoyment, which were echoed above, louder out of Anna's mouth.

Elsa licked her, moving her tongue up and down in slow, confident strokes until Anna thought she couldn't take any more of the tantalising pleasure Elsa was giving her, yet she could not form her voice into anything beyond wordless cries.

On the next lick, Elsa raised her tongue that little bit higher and began to roll it over her bundle of nerve endings, the most responsive part of her body; Anna edged closer to her release with every movement.

She was quivering, tensing against Elsa's lips, but the desire to touch Anna never lessened, the desire to feel Anna's pleasure with more than just her mouth was stronger in Elsa than ever before; she concentrated on making this time between them more intense than any other.

The little nub touching her tongue was now so swollen and sensitive... Knowing it would set fires of pleasure throughout her wife's body, Elsa sucked it and was rewarded with wild, high-pitched whines from Anna above her.

Anna felt Elsa's smiling lips leave her to say in a soft voice, low with adoration, "I love the sounds you make."

She opened her eyes and lowered her head from the angle she had thrown it back in her ecstasy, to see Elsa's passion in her deep blue gaze, watching Anna try to find her voice, to plead with her to continue.

And Anna had to touch her, to show this amazing woman just how much it meant to have her love. She ran her hands through Elsa's hair, tugging the fine strands that passed between her fingers gently, yet hard enough to prove how desperate she was for her release.

"Elsa, don't stop!" Her voice came out rough and Anna did not remember choosing the words, which were accompanied by a smile of all-pervading joy from the pleasure coursing through her, caused by Elsa's intimate caresses.

Blonde lashes lowered over those blue eyes in a look of pure carnality before Elsa buried her tongue in Anna's womanhood again. Anna gasped at the wetness and heat of it meeting her own; she knew and loved this wonderful sensation well but she couldn't stop her breath from hitching, and a second time when Elsa shifted her position so her nose nudged the sensitised nub above while her tongue circled Anna's centre and probed lightly inside.

Anna was breathless, no longer moaning but panting hard; Elsa knew she was close, so familiar was she with the subtle changes of her wife's body, and she suited her own movements to match Anna's state and bring her quickly to her bliss.

Elsa licked her in swift, rhythmic strokes, the wet sound of each one of them rose up to Anna's ears as Elsa's tongue glided up the length of her slit, paying most attention to her throbbing bud. Every lick, every suck built up the pressure inside, until it released; Anna's back arched of its own accord, thrusting herself further towards her while she melted into Elsa's mouth.

Elsa's tongue still stroked her, entered her at the moment of her climax so Anna tightened around it, and even though they were not holding hands or locking gazes like they usually loved to do when sharing these moments of pleasure together, amidst the bliss-clouded sensations swirling in her mind, Anna thought it was more intimate this way; Elsa was feeling the core of her climax, lapping every drop of essence that she had made Anna spill, as close as she could get to the centre of Anna's being.

A wave of tingling sensations overcame her, emanating from the touch of Elsa's lips and tongue, the pleasure taking hold of Anna until she collapsed, limp and sated.

She caught her breath, the aftershocks of Elsa's pleasure fading from Anna's body and mind, letting her organise her thoughts again, and she expressed them aloud to her wonderful wife. "That was... there aren't enough words! It was amazing. Well, you're always amazing, Elsa, that will never change." While she waited for Elsa to come and lie beside her, Anna realised that since the first time they had made love, each time after had felt just as special and intense, and yet tonight had seemed somehow even stronger... But she could not be sure...

Elsa raised herself, Anna's juices glistening on her chin, her lips dripping, and Anna watched her skilled pink tongue emerge to lick them. She didn't move to embrace her, though Anna knew her hands were still bound, yet she did not even sit next to her.

Anna lifted her head to take a better look at Elsa and see what was bothering her. She had still not relaxed; her figure was taut, but her eyes were full of love. Elsa looked at her longingly, as though from a distance, despite mere inches separating them. And there didn't have to be even that much.

"Elsa..." She leaned towards her and tried to touch her hands to free them, but Elsa flinched. Anna let her hand drop, though her resolve to love Elsa just the same as she always had done was still unchanged within her mind. "If you don't want to touch me, then let me touch you."

Elsa came closer at her words. "I want to touch you, Anna. More than anything, I just..."

Anna sat back. "Come here," she said, and Elsa did, slowly, cautiously. When they were almost touching, Anna closed the small distance between them and took hold of Elsa's waist, ignoring her initial flinch, guiding her wife to straddle her lap.

Her skin tingled when Elsa's warm flesh made contact with her own, rekindling the deep, satisfied ache that still remained from her climax. She slowly took in Elsa's beauty, from her hips up to her blushing face, and Anna felt heat rise to her own cheeks again in appreciation; Elsa was flawless, though her hands were clasped carefully at her chest, acting as a barrier, and the nervousness in her expression still remained. But Anna knew how to change that. "Raise your arms."

Elsa obeyed her gentle command and gave her a questioning look, though Anna didn't dwell on it for long. She quickly lowered her eyes to Elsa's breasts, displayed to her at last for her attention...

Anna wrapped her arms around her wife's slender waist and pulled Elsa close so she could rest her head above those perfect breasts that now pressed into her.

Elsa seemed to know what Anna wanted and lowered her arms, placing them slowly so they rested on Anna's shoulders and her head was between her bound hands. They embraced without touching the source of Elsa's fear, still surrounded in love and the heat of their bodies. Close, so close, but Anna had plenty of room to move, to lift her head up and gaze into Elsa's eyes.

She looked elated and seemed too thrilled to speak; her red lips were parted, her eyes caressing Anna's features since her fingers could not, and Anna knew it was time to feed the hunger she saw in those blue depths.

Anna followed the force of her passion, letting it lead her lips to Elsa's, kissing her with tenderness, proving her unending adoration in every movement. Yet Anna's kiss was underlain with lust that she allowed to flow out through her tongue, entering Elsa's mouth to taste herself there; a faint flavour that could not obscure Elsa's own natural sweetness and reminded her again just how much Elsa loved her.

Anna's tongue entwined with Elsa's, slowly and sensually at first, but the urgency they both felt gradually grew and expressed itself, transforming their kiss into an enflamed exchange of lips and teeth and tongue that left them panting for breath with their foreheads pressed together when the kiss had reached its crescendo.

She knew Elsa didn't want to use her hands yet, so with her own hands, Anna did everything that she could tell Elsa wanted to do to her. Every strand of silky, light-blonde hair, her cheekbones, her elegant jaw, all received the adoring touch of Anna's fingertips. She passed her palms over Elsa's snow-white shoulders and down her back as far as she could reach, feeling her wife shiver in her arms.

Not holding herself back any longer, Anna turned her attention to Elsa's breasts. They yielded to her touch, almost like they had been made to fit Anna's hands, and arousal struck Anna in her stomach at the wonderful sensation, just the same as the first time she had been this close to Elsa.

She began with feather-light touches around her nipples, tracing the smooth, pink skin there that only she and Elsa had the privilege to see and to caress. Each part of Elsa's body was beyond perfect, but at that moment the skin her fingertips touched was Anna's favourite, though she knew it would change the next time they made love.

Anna slowly brought her lips back to renew their kiss, lightly brushing Elsa's mouth with her own while her hands kept feeling her breasts until the nipples stood stiff and made Elsa break their kiss to gasp when she stroked them with the full length of her fingers.

Cupping them tenderly, Anna buried her face in the soft white flesh to cover Elsa's cleavage in kisses, rolling her thumbs over her nipples to the rhythm of their heartbeats; Anna could hear her own loud with her arousal and thought she caught the sound of Elsa's, too, this close to her chest.

Elsa's stifled moan above told her that she loved what Anna was doing, yet was still holding herself back, too scared of herself to accept that nothing had changed the way they both felt. Anna had to reassure her again.

"Elsa," she said, her voice low and powerful, penetrating Elsa's soul as her blue-green eyes looked into Elsa's own. "I love you. I'll  _always_  love you, no matter what happens. Don't ever forget that." The kiss she pressed onto Elsa's lips contained all the love and passion of her words, and Elsa kissed her back, her lips relaxing, her sighing breaths less restrained.

She did not tense when Anna's hand wandered down into the gap between their bodies and the other around her back, moving lower, cupping the firm flesh to support and caress her.

Elsa let Anna enter her warm mouth, where she licked the inside of her cheeks and stroked Elsa's tongue with her own, entwining and melding together in such a sweet sensation that Anna almost lost herself. But she still retained enough control to stroke the slick, hot wetness between Elsa's lower lips, circling the spot near the top though not allowing her fingertips to touch the sensitive little nub itself; she knew such teasing would help Elsa to forget all her troubles, forget everything beyond her and Anna and the pleasure between them.

Her fingers were moist from Elsa's essence, moving smoothly within her folds, and Anna thought, not for the first time, that touching Elsa like this was the closest thing to paradise. Anna stroked within her while above, Elsa moaned into her mouth and leaned back.

"Anna..." she whispered in an exhalation of hot, sweet breath on her face. Seeing her desperation, Anna rubbed her fingers on the hardened bud, pressing it while her lips claimed Elsa's cries. She sucked lightly on the tip of Elsa's tongue, hearing the melody of her moans until she changed her movements below, leaving Elsa's pleasure point to tease and press the parts of her sex that Anna knew felt good for her, but not enough to bring Elsa her release.

Elsa broke the kiss again. "Anna...!"

Her cry was higher, more pleading and Anna could tell Elsa was forgetting all her troubles. Anna studied her, this beautiful woman, her wonderful wife, blessed with so many skills and talents that Anna doubted she could name them all; all that beauty and power made her unique, made her Elsa, and Anna adored her with everything she had.

Under heavy lids and golden lashes, Elsa's deep blue eyes gazed at her with her total attention, like Anna was the only other person in the world, because Anna was the only one who could give her love and pleasure.

She watched every little nuance of Elsa's expression; pleading, love and overwhelming arousal, all because of  _her_. Anna stroked down, through Elsa's soaked womanhood, wet for  _her_ , and brushed over her entrance, savouring her moans before sliding the tips of her fingers inside.

Anna loved to watch Elsa's face when she entered her; the blue eyes closed, her graceful golden brows raised slightly, her red lips parted as a bright blush blossomed in her cheeks and chest when Anna's two fingers were fully inside, feeling Elsa's secret heat, the fire within that was her life.

She would help Elsa to forget and take her to the place of pleasure where just she and Anna existed. Anna herself had already forgotten everything but the feel and scent of Elsa's skin, the slender arms surrounding her shoulders, the taste of Elsa's mouth, the sound of her breath; Elsa was her everything and Anna felt that pleasing her, loving her was her greatest purpose.

With slow, gentle movements, Anna began to move her fingers in and out of Elsa's core. Elsa bucked her hips with the rhythm, pushing Anna's fingers deeper so they brushed that sensitive, hidden spot within her when she curled them.

Light moans of pure pleasure passed Elsa's lips, growing louder when Anna quickened her pace, thrusting her fingers faster, pressing her thumb above onto the bud at the apex of her folds.

Anna could feel her climax nearing, she knew Elsa so well. Anna saw it in her face, heard it in her cries, felt it in her core, so close...

As she predicted, a split-second later, Elsa let go completely, she tightened on her fingers, and Anna took them out to taste Elsa's pleasure while she rode her climax.

Elsa was magnificent, every sound from her lips and shiver from her body made Anna love her so much that she didn't know how it was possible; all she knew for certain was that Elsa was the most beautiful woman who had ever lived, she was Anna's and Anna was hers.

The comforting warmth when Elsa relaxed, leaning against Anna, resting their blushing cheeks together, made it seem like the events of the day had not happened, because their love had erased them. In those sweet moments, Anna's arms encircled Elsa's soft body, cradling her and feeling her breathing go back to normal.

That comfort shifted but did not disappear when the warmth of her wife's skin left her own and Elsa turned to face Anna, to tell her in a whisper of the intense feelings Anna could already see in her eyes.

"I love you, you mean everything to me, Anna. And I'm just so glad..." She couldn't continue, and she didn't need to; Anna understood.

She was amazed, as always, that such a wonderful woman would say that to her. Yet confidence stirred inside Anna with the knowledge that she was the only one worthy of Elsa's love, the only one who could help her get through this change, as she had been charged.

"I love you, too," Anna said, in a tone both soft and firm. " _All_  of you, even your new power because its  _yours_. You can't get rid of it, and I know you're afraid, but I'm not! I know you'd never hurt me." She stroked her palms over Elsa's arms before gently lifting them off her shoulders and over her own head, bringing them down to hold Elsa's hands between their chests.

Anna untied the knot and unwound the fabric binding Elsa's hands together, yet the bond between the two wives was stronger than it had ever been.

"Anna..." She had not let go of Elsa's arms once they were freed, and Elsa could tell what she planned to do. Elsa willed herself not to worry.

"Trust me. Trust the goddess," Anna said simply, pausing to let her words sink in. Elsa's wrists were tense, but she did not protest when Anna slowly took hold of the fabric separating her skin from Elsa's and peeled off the gloves, freeing her fingers again.

In the afterglow of her orgasm - its force still present in her body, so strong was the love between Anna and Elsa - every nerve in her skin was heightened, making Elsa's hands more sensitive than before. Even the air of the room seemed to swirl around and between her fingers, sending a shiver up her spine.

Anna lightly brushed her palms to Elsa's, feeling the thrill inside the other woman, and inside herself, when nothing happened. She let their fingers entwine, since they belonged together, they gave each other such pleasure so many times, and laced them with Elsa's, not holding too tightly. Anna had almost forgotten how pale and delicate her wife's hands looked; exactly the same, yet she could feel a force in them, like a silent hum beneath her skin.

Elsa felt something on her cheeks and realised she was shedding tears of pure joy. Anna was crying, too; Elsa could see shining tears spilling from her teal-coloured eyes and down her face.

"The magic likes you, I can feel it," Elsa told her. And when Anna smiled and held Elsa's hands to her heart, Elsa saw it, too. A faint glimmer arose from her fingers, pink and blue and green, the colours of their love; like the Northern Lights in miniature, reflected on Anna's freckled skin.

Wonder filled Anna's eyes at the sight of the magic and she was in awe of the power she sensed in Elsa. "I could spend forever watching it," Anna said, lifting her eyes to meet Elsa's for a moment. "Because it's part of you!"

"Anna... It's part of  _us_ ," Elsa said, realising the truth of her power now. "And it's beautiful."

Unable to put more words to the wonder of her revelation, Elsa silently thanked the goddess, the sun, the moon and sky, but most of all her beautiful Anna for everything.

They were ready to live the rest of their lives in safety and joy; it would be different, but Elsa and Anna could conquer anything, because they were together.


	15. Thisbe

Anna still remembered the day the wall was built. The garden behind her house had once been a place of magic, a place of the fun and freedom that made up her childhood, until the wall ended all of that.

Though there was no wall in Anna's mind to stop her memories. Still she dwelt on what, to her, had been the best of times in the fifth year of her life. Even before that, as far back as Anna could recall, she was not alone. She had another life joined to her own, another girl to talk to and play with, to share their burgeoning understanding of the world. All Anna ever knew in those early years was warmth and friendship; all Anna ever knew was Elsa.

They played together in the garden through all weathers, all seasons; building snowmen in the winter, cloud gazing in summer, and everything in between. The two girls created their own private paradise, doing everything together, at least, everything they could control in their young lives. Then suddenly, almost overnight, it all changed.

The two households, Elsa's and Anna's, were joined together as one building, and although each family lived separately within, they used to share the garden, and great companionship.

Anna remembered when the arguments began. She didn't understand them then, but now she knew her family had done wrong to Elsa's, a wrong that became a grudge between them, though both girls were blameless. Yet even so, the first wall went up in Elsa's mind.

Elsa was older by three years and had always been more sensible than Anna. She remembered how Elsa would impress her younger self with her cleverness; whenever they read together, Elsa knew how to say all the long words that puzzled Anna, and if she ever had a question, Anna always asked Elsa first, and always got an answer. Elsa was more than just a friend, Anna trusted her with every fraction of her child's soul.

With this trust and innocent love, Anna knew something was truly wrong when one day - as clear in her thoughts as if had happened only hours ago - Elsa would not speak to her, ran away when Anna came out into the garden. The face she saw when Elsa glanced back stayed etched in her mind's eye; a face of pure sadness, pain mingled with the tears in her blue eyes.

Then the real wall was put up, ordered by Elsa's father; cold grey stone to prevent the girls from meeting, tall enough for each house to block the neighbours from their eyes and minds.

But Anna was not so easily stopped. When the partition had stood finished for mere hours, Anna found her father's ladder and used all her five-year-old strength to climb to the top of the wall, carrying notes and toys for Elsa, throwing them onto the other side.

After she was discovered and carried kicking and screaming to her room, it did not take long until Anna had escaped and sneaked round to the front of the house. She posted more notes under the door and knocked until her knuckles hurt, yet all she got in return was silence before her parents brought her back inside, defeated and confused.

Anna would sit on her side of the wall in the patch of the garden where they used to play, waiting and calling for Elsa to come out, but everything she tried was ignored.

She grew, and gave it all up in time, too used to nothing in reply and her parents' reproves. Though Anna never truly stopped thinking of the girl who was her world; every hour she spent with Elsa lived within her heart, and the flame of their bond never died out, fed by vivid memories.

Anna's father and mother tried to erase her childhood companion from her thoughts. They kept her busy, yet could not separate the girls completely. For thirteen years Anna waited for the day when Elsa would talk to her again. It never came, but living in the same city and in such close proximity, it was inevitable that she would see Elsa. Sometimes months or years went by with nothing, and even when Anna did catch sight of her it was just a glimpse lasting only brief seconds.

Like a vision conjured from the past she would appear, the same light-blonde hair in a thick braid, the same eyes that always looked deep into Anna's own before she disappeared again, to be seen only in dreams and memories.

Anna's parents no longer had to stop her from pursuing Elsa; her love was faded, smothered, but not gone, dulled with lack of use though still there if she cared to delve into the depths of her mind.

Now Anna had not seen her at all in the longest time. She thought they had sent Elsa away and silently accepted that part of her life was probably over, that she would never feel any form of Elsa's affection again. Anna knew, at least, that she had tried her hardest to reach out to the other girl and regain what they once had.

Despite the passage of time and all the chances it gave for resentment to fester inside her mind, Anna could never hate Elsa. Sometimes she tried and told herself that if Elsa really cared, she wouldn't have ignored her all these years... But deep inside, Anna's belief was still there; she was sure that Elsa could never hate her either. The sorrow in those blue eyes haunted Anna's memories and mind, so strong it brought tears to her own, alone in her room.

Her thoughts would drift back unbidden, even without reminders. Anna would find herself wondering what Elsa was doing at that moment, wherever she was. Anna hoped she was having fun, living the adventures they used to plan together instead of staying stuck in the same house like Anna; the same things surrounding her every day since their separation, all the same except for the emptiness caused by Elsa's distance.

But at last, some change had come. It might have seemed mundane to anyone else, yet to Anna, anything different was good.

Her brother Hans had returned from abroad, unannounced and unexpected, though welcomed home with open arms, and he wanted his old room back.

Being the youngest and a girl, Anna had to give up the chamber she had made her own for the past few years, all but ordered by her parents to move for their prodigal son.

They trusted Anna more now, her mother and father thought she had forgotten the friend who had meant so much to her before the feud. She had not even mentioned Elsa's name in months, had not tried to visit her for years, and in their trust they let Anna choose a new room for herself.

This was Fate's chance, Love had waited long for it, and Love will find a way through anything.

If Anna had chosen a different room, none of it would have happened. She didn't want the tiny chamber in which she had spent her childhood before Hans left; there were too many memories to haunt her there.

Instead, she was drawn to the attic. It may have been small, but there was enough space for a bed and most of Anna's possessions. Though the thing about the attic that captivated Anna was the window. There at the top of the house, Anna felt like a princess in a tower, with an amazing view below. She could see all the way to the city walls, even the forests and mountains beyond; the winding streets within were full of sights that Anna could watch for hours and fill her head with dreams of other lives.

She made the room as comfortable as she could and arranged all her things as she liked them, ready to spend her first day relaxing in the new space. Anna carried up the last of her possessions and almost dropped them in shock when she returned to a room full of sound.

The melody was beautiful, a song she knew but could not place, so strong and clear like the owner of that sweet voice was there with Anna in her room, and yet she was alone. She froze, it struck her that the room was haunted, the first explanation that made sense. The second and more likely reason, one that scared Anna even more, was that someone had entered the attic in her absence and now hid out of sight.

"Who's there?" Anna called when her courage returned, and the singing stopped.

Freeing her hands of the few items she carried, Anna placed them on the bed and knelt to look underneath. "I know you're here somewhere..." she said, upon finding only a blank dark space below. Anna rose to her feet again and spun around to look behind in the most obvious hiding place. Yet the closet yielded nothing but her clothes. She sighed and was almost ready to dismiss the singing as just her imagination, until Anna decided to try another method. "You have a lovely voice!" she called, knowing flattery was sure to entice the person out, and it wasn't just flattery; Anna truly thought it was the most beautiful sound that had ever graced her ears.

Meanwhile, in her own room, Elsa stood completely still, her own ears filled by the beating of her panicked heart and the faint sound of the voice.

She calmed herself, somehow comforted by the other presence in the room that had been her private sanctuary for so long. Pulled towards the voice's source, Elsa listened and wandered over to the wall. She had never noticed before that it was cracked, or had grown too used to the sight in the countless days she had spent within that chamber, but now she looked at it anew and realised that the sounds of the house next door must be leaking through.

Impulse took over Elsa at the compliment she heard and the words came from her lips unchecked. "Thank you."

"Where are you?" Anna asked. The brief reply thrilled her, just two words though they set her heart thumping again. And the sound of them led Anna closer to answering the question herself.

The wallpaper in front of her was old, the tessellating pattern faded and peeling in places, though she knew that was not the source. Covering a large part of the wall was a painting, a landscape of blue fjords and green forests that Anna adored. She grabbed the dusty frame and lifted it up, exposing the wallpaper behind - a few shades darker than the surroundings - and the fault in the wall it concealed.

Anna stared at the jagged fissure as she placed the painting on the floor. It looked old and deep, she guessed it was a defect from when the house was built, hidden all that time, for centuries. It wasn't wide enough to see through, but Anna heard clearly when a reply came from the other side.

"In my room, in the house next door to you," Elsa said, with her ear pressed against the fractured wall to hear the other woman better. Elsa liked her voice, there was a quality to it... something that  _attracted_  her.

Now was the time for the walls between them to come down, changing both their lives forever. Something switched within Anna, memories flooded her mind of the girl with whom she had shared her youth, her other half. "Wait... Are you... Elsa?" Anna shivered, saying the name she had only thought for such a long time.

Yet the only reply she received was silence.

"It's me, Anna!" she tried again, desperately, her heart hammering in her chest, the swirling emotions almost reducing her to tears with surprise and hope and love. "Don't you remember?"

"I - I shouldn't talk to you."

"Why not?" Anna asked, but was answered with only more silence from Elsa. She broke it again a moment later, desperate to fill the void that had gaped inside her head and heart for over a decade. "Just because our parents hate each other doesn't mean that we have to! Elsa? I've been waiting to talk to you for  _years!_ "

She heard nothing for the next few minutes. Elsa was probably gone. Anna sighed in frustration and sadness and too many feelings to understand that had been kept inside for too long. The wallpaper stuck to her palm with her sweat and she pulled her hand away, clenching it into a fist. She shouldn't have said Elsa's name; if she had resisted, Anna could have made friends with her again and made up for all that lost time.

Elsa had grown up, and she had, too. Elsa's voice was now womanly and melodious, they had barely exchanged a few words but still... Anna wanted to discover more, to know how Elsa had changed, and to show her how  _she_  had changed herself.

Besides, the only company she had right now was her brother, who was not exactly friendly. It was nice to have another girl so close; in her own room, as if they were sharing like they used to in their girlhood. Anna remembered Elsa's room back then - a small chamber, warm and cosy - and guessed that she had moved to her attic, too, sometime since their separation... They were still connected by coincidence, or destiny, and that comforted Anna.

If she could get back to those times... To have one true friend again, who was the kindest, most beautiful person Anna knew; always sharing her talents with Anna and helping the younger girl to be the best she could, that was all Anna needed.

Not only the wish to recover that long-lost bliss drew her to the other girl, now there was a sense of mystery that surrounded Elsa; what had she been doing all these years? Why had she shut Anna out for all this time? Anna was determined to find out.

Along with Elsa's mystery, the knowledge that her parents had forbidden what she wanted sent waves of excitement all through Anna's body. She hadn't made any real friends since Elsa, nothing more than mere acquaintanceships, and Anna knew that, deep down, nobody wants to be alone; Elsa couldn't resist her for long.

She had found the missing piece of her life, and Anna was not willing to let it go again so easily. "I'm going to talk to you, Elsa," she said, in a decision that would change her life. "Even if you don't reply."

Elsa was about to leave but heard her words and paused to listen. Anna sounded just the same; though now her voice was tuneful, the feistiness and friendliness had not lessened. But still Elsa held back the impulse to reply and pour out her soul in words to its other half for them to join again as they used to.

When she first heard the voice from next door, Elsa had thought a stranger now lived in the house, so disconnected was she from everything to do with Anna. And Elsa wondered to herself whether she would have replied at all in the first place if she had known the voice belonged to Anna.

"I just want us to be friends again, Elsa," she said, her voice more muffled, trembling and fading, as if she was a little girl again; Elsa knew what she would hear next and wrapped her arms around herself protectively, powerless to stop it.

The sound of Anna's sob hit her through the heart and echoed around the room, even though it lasted only a second and was soon followed by the loud slam of the door closing on the other side of the wall.

"I want the same," Elsa whispered to the empty room, now blurred by her tears. Beneath her sorrow and regret, the thought that she could regain what had been lost all those years ago gave Elsa hope. She focused on that small spark within her and let it glow. The solace it gave helped Elsa compose herself, to hide her feelings from her family when she left her room to join them.

Yet what Anna and Elsa wanted could not be restored; their friendship could not be renewed. Each girl had become something more in the other's mind, something precious and unreal. Both girls had lived in their memories throughout their lonely years, embellishing and changing the remembrance of each other into something magical, akin to a goddess instead of a girl. The recollections of those good times, perfect days and peaceful nights, blended into one beautiful utopia. Until, of course, they remembered how it ended.

Anna caught herself thinking this in the flurry of feelings that arose inside as she looked out the window at her new view the next day. She could see the other side of the house, the garden that held so many memories of long-gone happiness. And for the first time in forever, the garden was not empty.

Amidst the greenery, Anna saw a maiden as white as winter, with moonlight in her hair, though it was day. She stood in the shade of the trees and seemed to glow; her dress was pale - the faintest shade of blue - but her skin was paler still. Her lips were rosy, astonishingly so, and the effect against her snow-white face was strikingly beautiful. Those lips matched the voice Anna had heard yesterday, delicate and feminine...

Poised, tall and fair, she was unreal in her loveliness, yet the recognition that hit Anna at that moment was undoubtedly real. It was Elsa. She had the same graceful posture, the same hair and eyes; Anna had dreamed of them both waking and sleeping. The glimpses over the years had been so brief, and even though the vision Anna now saw matched them, she was more exquisite, more precious. And Anna could look at her without getting caught.

Elsa was with her father, a stern blond man who only smiled when his daughter spoke to him. Anna used to see him as a second father, but now knew him only through her own father's insults. She could not love him anymore, though she still loved Elsa, as much as she had always done.

Anna turned her eyes back to Elsa's features again, so familiar and yet now so different, even more beautiful than Anna had ever found her before. And she was real, not a fantasy, not a dream; Anna's heart fluttered with every elegant movement she watched Elsa make, until her father led her back inside and out of Anna's sight again.

Chance had smiled on Anna, and a smile did not leave her own lips for the rest of the day, to the puzzlement of her family.

Evening came, bringing darkness to Anna's room until she was forced to light a lamp. Only a few hours before, the day had been bright and clear, but she had lost the time in between by reading a book, making those hours seem like minutes in her memory. Her plan had worked, she had disguised her waiting, distracting her own impatient brain. And now it wouldn't be long before Elsa went to bed.

Anna turned her eyes from the indigo sky to the cracked wall, which she had left uncovered by the painting since yesterday. She was about to go back to her book, but curiosity called her towards the fault in the building that was a blessing for her. Now seen in the lamplight, it seemed bigger. This fissure had existed hidden for so long, and if she and Elsa had found it earlier, they could have been saved from so much pain. Anna put her ear to the wall and heard the muffled sounds carried up from all around her house, Hans' and her parents' voices, laughter.

But after a couple of minutes, the one sound Anna wanted to hear and had been hoping for all day rose to her ears. Light footsteps, the slightest creak of a door and a sigh from the other side of the wall, so soft, so faint that it could only be heard by one who was listening for it.

Her heartbeat drowned out her thoughts for a moment, its rhythm was louder than all the sounds she had just heard, though Anna soon found her voice.

"Elsa! Are you there?"

Elsa paused. Anna's voice was so clear and she knew that the other girl was close, standing only on the other side of the wall... Her conscience kicked in, telling Elsa she shouldn't reply, but then her guilt took over, even stronger than all her parents had told her in the past thirteen years. Guilt and a longing for the way things used to be filled Elsa's whole being, awoken by the sense of Anna's presence. The girl who had been her everything, whose friendship had been precious, but so cruelly and suddenly sundered by things neither could control.

Just one word could bring back what she had lost. Elsa moved as if pulled by a powerful force - every step taking her further from the life she had and towards the one she wanted - she walked up to the broken wall and said that single word to fix the fracture in her heart. "Yes."

It was Anna's turn to pause. She had not expected to get an answer, and then felt ashamed of herself for doubting Elsa; Anna had believed strongly all along that Elsa would talk to her if she had the chance, and now she knew she was right. Although now Anna didn't know what to say, there was simply too much.  _Elsa_  was there, listening to her; something Anna had not expected would happen for a very long time.

"I saw you today," she began, the sight was so vivid in her mind that it came out before Anna could choose anything else to say, but she decided to just roll with it. "In the garden... You've grown up!" Anna would not have said her next words if Elsa had been standing in front of her; though in this case, the wall between them was useful because Anna couldn't get distracted gazing into those blue eyes she had seen only from afar. "You're beautiful!"

"Thank you," came the reply, and Anna could hear Elsa's shyness. Her own shyness had completely gone, and Anna found that now she had started talking, she couldn't stop.

"I'm glad I've seen your face to match with your voice. But you haven't changed too much, I'd still recognise you anywhere."

"Have you changed?" Elsa asked, her curiosity inspired by Anna's friendliness.

"Oh, I guess so. I'm sure you'll see me sometime... I know! Let's meet in the garden tomorrow. And then we can - "

"No, Anna. Someone would see. And I'm not allowed to leave the house alone. My father says it's to keep me safe."

"Wait, what?" Anna exclaimed. "That's horrible!"

"I'm used to it," she explained. "It's been this way for years, ever since... you know..."

Anna felt her heart speed up again now she knew the truth, only this time it was with anger. "I thought your parents sent you away!"

"No. I've always been in this house, mostly here in my room. I moved to a bigger room when... when I knew I'd be spending more time inside."

For a moment, Anna didn't know what was worse; the thought of Elsa being sent away and leaving her forever, or knowing that she had been here the whole time, kept away from the outside world she loved.

Then a sense of gladness overcame her, with Elsa so close, it was almost like they were together again. And now Anna could help make life happier for her. Though the confusion and frustration of how anyone could treat their own daughter that way still fought to make itself known. "You were kept here like a prisoner all this time? Elsa, you didn't even do anything wrong! I wouldn't let my parents do that to me. I'd sneak out all the time!"

"That's something Kristoff would do. But not me, I'm the good one," Elsa said with a sigh.

Anna remembered how Elsa was always less daring than her brother, even so, she was always more fun to be around; Anna always preferred Elsa's company to Kristoff's, and she remembered that she had lost his friendship, too, when their parents fought.

"If my parents ever find out I've been talking to you, I'll be in trouble..." Elsa thought aloud.

"So will I," said Anna. "But we're just talking... And they won't find out."

Elsa did not stop speaking with Anna that night. They talked for hours until both their voices were thick with tiredness and interspersed with yawns. Both girls slept more soundly than they had done in a long time, eased and comforted by the other's presence merely a wall away.

Yet Elsa was still good, even though she talked to Anna; she could not give that up again, but she did not sneak out to try and see her. Instead, since she was not allowed to leave alone, Elsa explored her own house. She knew it well, of course, but now examined it in a different way, and at the same time, Elsa saw herself differently, too.

For the first time in her adult life, Elsa allowed herself to truly think about her feelings for Anna, and it was like opening up a box of treasures in her soul that she had hidden. The glow of her emotions filled Elsa, finding expression in her eyes and her smile. Whenever her family caught sight of her on that first day of feeling again, they could tell something had changed, but before they had the chance to ask her, she had wandered away, back to her room.

Elsa's feelings had not faded, Anna was still her everything. Too much time had gone by, and so quickly that it made no sense. She had been here all these years in silence, unbeknownst to Anna; so close and so far, until Elsa had become numb with longing for her friend and freedom again.

Now she searched desperately for a way to be with Anna, to see her smile and hear her laughter that used to be like life itself to Elsa in her girlhood. She searched for a way to be  _equal_ , because she had not seen Anna yet, Elsa did not know how  _she_  had changed.

Elsa looked all over for some kind of secret door or another break in the boundary wall between the houses, she even searched the cellar - a source of terror in her childhood - for a passage underground to link them.

Yet her search yielded nothing. All Elsa discovered was the fault in the attic wall; it had always been there, but only now did Elsa look closer.

She pressed her eye right up to the wall, close enough to see a light on the other side: faint, blurred, but the same gentle afternoon light that shone into her own room, and nothing else.

It struck Elsa as strange that she had never heard anyone next door before, in all the time, the countless hours and days she had spent here in this room. And the luck of it all, the pure chance that had brought Anna back to her struck Elsa as stranger still. A warmth awoke in Elsa's mind and heart, a comfort that this was what she had wanted all along, wanted and yet never even hoped or wished for.

A sudden sound brought Elsa out of her reverie and she started back from the wall but left her hand there, to somehow touch the source of her newly awakened happiness, if happiness it was; Elsa would still not admit it to herself, it was so faint, as faint as the sigh that came from the other side of the wall in a voice she had waited to hear all day.

She listened closer and heard the bedsprings creak in Anna's room. In her mind's eye Elsa saw Anna throw herself onto her bed, her red hair flowing beneath her like a fiery river, but there was no face to match the voice and name; Elsa knew Anna would no longer have her child's features, even if her child's love and determination had not deserted her. A second sigh reached her ears from across the wall.

"Are you tired?" The question left Elsa's lips before she could stop it or consider the consequences, then it was out in the world, and with it Elsa's love and concern for the girl who was once closer to her than a sister. That love and concern reached the other side, through the broken wall and was reflected back to Elsa in the joy she heard in Anna's reply.

"Elsa! I thought you were there! It's good to hear your voice again! And yeah, I'm  _really_  tired. I spent all day in the orchard, Father made me help."

Elsa remembered the orchard where she and Anna once spent so many happy hours before their families' feud.

She did not know exactly how it started, never had and probably never would, but Elsa had heard that it began with a wrong House Westergaard did to her family years ago that had been deemed irreparable, and no apology had ever come. House Arendelle had wronged them in return and so had begun their small-scale war that ended in a truce of silence and mutual enmity.

The details were hazy. Elsa had never wanted to ask; her parents had lost friends, too, and she had seen the pain that caused, felt it a thousandfold herself when she had lost her closest friend.

Their parents had damaged Elsa and Anna deeply, they may not have meant to, but they did. And now Elsa had a chance to repair it, or at least to have something better than her life this past decade. And the strangest thing was that the break in the wall could heal the break in her heart.

"We have servants to do it," Anna continued, captivating Elsa's soul with every word. "But I helped them, I worked so much until I was sore all over. And it's strange..."

"What?" Elsa asked, slightly saddened by the silence Anna had left her with for a moment.

"When I hear your voice, all the pain goes away."

"Really?" Elsa's heart jumped and would not slow down again.

"I wouldn't lie to you, Elsa. It's like when we were little," Anna said, her tone brightening. "You always made me feel better if I was sad or hurt; you're just the same, Elsa."

Elsa had hardly said anything to Anna today and yet the other girl was still so loyal and dedicated, even after all those years. She felt somehow that it was still too soon, and yet it was not soon enough. That reminded her again of how much she had lost and the frustration rose in Elsa once more, though it did not show itself in her voice. "But we don't know each other. Not anymore. We've become different people."

The bed next door shifted again and Elsa pictured Anna rolling over, leaning on her stomach and facing her, but still with no face, her red hair covering her unknown features like a veil.

"I  _feel_  like I know you, Elsa. And that you know me, too. Destiny brought us back together; it made us choose these rooms, it made the gap in the wall... It's all for a reason! I know it seems totally crazy, but I believe it!" The emotions of Anna's words came to the surface, the subtle change of tone showing Elsa the truth of Anna's heart. "Elsa, we were so close. We can be like that again."

"I don't know..." Elsa stared at the wall that separated them and saw it cloud over with tears; tears for the pain that was still within her and that she knew Anna felt, too; for everything. "So much has changed, Anna..."

"We might have changed on the outside," Anna replied, both gently and firmly, her willpower putting Elsa at ease as if she was sitting with her, not separated by a wall and over a decade of silence. "But we still have the same souls, the same hearts, and they say the heart's not so easily changed..."

After those words, Elsa's heart did change, returning to how it used to be; open and willing to know friendship once again. Time passed, much as it had before to all observers, but the moment Elsa closed the door of her room, she waited to hear Anna's voice and feel the joy of her company, letting herself rebuild the fragments of their bond. Alone in her room all day, Elsa could have been lonely, but with her books and Anna's constant conversation whenever she was home, Elsa had all the company she craved.

They spent every day catching up, filling in the gaps the years had left with words exchanged through the gap in the wall.

Soon Elsa could picture Anna, with her bright hair in twin braids or loose around her shoulders, fitting actions to her words. She remembered from their childhood how Anna would talk with her hands, and all her nervous habits, imagining what she would do while they talked, learning to tell Anna's mood by her tone alone.

And they learned about each other, exchanging how they'd changed; in most ways less than either had guessed, though telling truly was difficult with no sight, only sound.

A simple action solved that problem, yet it was one that Elsa had not done in a very long time; she had shut the world out, been made to mistrust everything outside so much that she had not even wanted to look out her window. Sometimes she saw shadows on the wall cast from whatever went on outside; once, they had been enough, but Elsa was sick of them, as insubstantial and flickering as her memories, she needed something  _real_.

Not one cloud obscured the deep blue sky outside when Elsa stepped over to see it, as beautiful as it had ever been and clearer up here than viewed from down in the garden when she had last visited it. From here Elsa could even see what had been forbidden from her sight for so long, over the wall and into the other side of the once-shared garden.

Looking from a window above gave Elsa the sight she wanted, though she had not sought it nor expected, or even hoped for anything so wonderful to greet her eyes that day.

Anna drew her gaze the moment Elsa recognised her, with her unique red hair she could not be anyone other than the girl Elsa had thought about non-stop since she moved into the room joined to her own.

Elsa's heart sped up, pounding loud in her ears while she regarded Anna; her hair was like autumn leaves, though her movements were as sprightly as summer so she reminded Elsa of the time of year around them, in between the two seasons, and more beautiful than both.

She was walking with her father and brother, both of them had changed, too; not that Elsa cared, the two men had wronged her family, she had seen them do so many times, but never Anna. Elsa could do nothing but love her, yet she couldn't explain why.

Maybe it was the winsome smile Anna wore, or the familiar way she pushed her hair back behind her ear, Elsa did not know. But her eyes lingered on that slender hand, the same hand she used to hold and held her own so often. Elsa remembered how Anna's hand had felt, small in hers, though it would be larger now, to match her own.

Anna wore breeches, too, something she had never worn in their girlhood, but Elsa realised now that Anna was no longer a girl; she was a woman. True, Elsa had seen her briefly, knew Anna had grown from stolen gazes when their paths crossed outside - which happened so rarely that Elsa could count the occasions on her fingers - yet she really understood now.

Her eyes seemed to fuse themselves to Anna's hips, the way the fabric clung to her curves, the way she walked and how her braids would sway to the rhythm... By the time Anna was out of sight, Elsa's heart began to calm, but heat consumed her body from her cheeks to her fingertips, so strong that Elsa grew worried and wondered at her feelings, confused and swirling within her in a way they never had before.

They did so again when Elsa returned to her room that evening. She had barely sat down when destiny brought Anna to Elsa once more.

Her footsteps announced her return, Elsa had learned the cadence of them well since their re-acquaintance had begun, along with every little sound of Anna's routine. She sighed, both her weariness and her gladness to be back showing in that soft exhalation; Elsa knew that next Anna would say her name to check if she was there, but Elsa beat her to it and hurried up to the fractured wall.

"Anna! I saw you!" The words came out before Elsa could organise them. "You look beautiful! Especially - "

"Thanks, Elsa," Anna cut in. "Hold on just a second, I'm getting changed."

"Oh..." A blush crept up to cover Elsa's face in crimson heat as a picture entered her mind of Anna lifting off her shirt and pulling down her breeches, revealing her hidden skin beneath...

Elsa knew Anna had probably been naked in the room next door many times before, but now she had seen the other girl's figure and satisfied herself with how she looked, Elsa was curious about what was under Anna's clothes; a curiosity that had never entered her thoughts before.

In books, in conversation, Elsa had learned about such longings, yet she had never heard of a woman feeling that way about another woman; even so, she knew she wanted to see Anna, and to touch her...

She kept quiet about it, not ready to talk of something she did not fully understand herself, and instead Elsa talked with Anna of everything else, sharing all her other thoughts with her only friend; an old friend and a new one all at the same time.

They re-lived good memories together and built up a picture of what they had both been doing for all those missing years without each other, and neither girl ever tired of discovering that her friend was indeed different, but a good different.

Elsa changed from that day forth, her new feelings grew so strong they began to show, and her family noticed. When questioned, Elsa would dismiss it as nothing and smile to herself, keeping everything secret. Simply having a secret, and especially what her secret was, released a joy into Elsa's life that had never possessed her before, making her thoughts and heart race, constantly returning to Anna.

Inspired by Anna's tales of the town, and her own longing for the world outside her home, to see the sights she would once visit whenever and with whomever she pleased, Elsa insisted on going out again. This time she went with her mother to Oaken's trading post, one of her favourite places as a child.

The wooden building was just the same as she remembered, time had not changed its charm, nor had it changed Elsa's joy at seeing the store again. The door opened and they were met by the jingling of a bell and a cheery greeting from the shopkeeper, all unchanged as if Elsa had last visited only yesterday, not years ago.

Her mother wandered away to look at whatever she had come to buy, and speak to Oaken, leaving Elsa to explore the store for herself. It was still full of wonders; trinkets and potions, foods from far and near filled the shelves and displays and captivated Elsa's attention with thinking of all the places she would love to visit if she could.

Then from the corner of her eye she saw a sign that made her heart miss a beat. Elsa turned to read it again to make sure she hadn't imagined it, but her eyes had not deceived her, it read "Westergaard apples." From Anna's family's orchard...

She found herself touching one of the round, red fruits, feeling the firm, smooth skin with her fingers and picking it up to rest in her palm. All the while Elsa wondered if Anna had touched this apple, if she had picked it from the tree on which it grew, if Anna's hand - now the same size as her own - had held this apple as she did now. Elsa hoped she had, she needed a true connection to Anna, something more than glances from afar and muffled conversations, always separated by walls or glass or distance...

At the sound of the shop's bell, she looked up, and, as if Elsa's thoughts had summoned her, Anna walked though the door. She couldn't move, her heart hammered in her chest, drowning out any chance of forming coherent words - in her mind or with her mouth - but Elsa could still look, so she did just that, not aware that she was, in fact, staring hard.

The face before her was right out of Elsa's childhood; Anna had not changed as much as Elsa expected, though she was womanly now, no longer so girlish. But what she noted most was Anna's  _beauty_ , she was even more beautiful than she had been in their childhood. Her freckles had not faded, which gladdened Elsa's soul to know; they weren't visible from the rare glances she had stolen from a distance over the years, and now it seemed that Anna had many more... Those freckles had always been one of Elsa's favourite things about her friend.

Anna hadn't noticed her yet. She waved a reply to Oaken's greeting and kept walking closer to Elsa, until she turned her head and froze as soon as her eyes met Elsa's own. And those eyes were so vivid, blue and green together mingling into a colour that Elsa had only glimpsed in memories, fleeting visions that paled when compared to the reality; brighter, clearer when Anna's eyes widened at the sight of her.

She was just as shocked as Elsa and gaped to see the face she had only dreamed of so close, those eyes locked onto hers. Anna did not know how long they stood like that, but she forced her own eyes lower before she got lost in the blue depths in front of her.

Elsa carried a basket in the crook of her slender white arm, graceful in the morning light that shone through the shop window. The blue dress she wore fitted her figure to perfection; she had always dressed in blue when they were girls and Anna was glad that had not changed, she thought of it as Elsa's colour. And it still suited her; those eyes and her hair and her snow-white skin were just the same, pure perfection... The flawless skin of Elsa's wrists drew Anna's gaze, and from there it went to her delicate hands. One cupped an apple, those elegant fingers gently holding the fruit before she moved to put it down, reminding Anna that she was real, not a fantasy.

Anna stood close enough to see her tremble, shaking as she withdrew her empty hand. Elsa had averted her eyes but kept glancing back, giving Anna brief flashes of blue before lowering them to her clasped hands, still trembling. Anna wanted to know the cause of Elsa's nervousness, wanted to calm her with soothing words or a gentle touch, and Anna was desperate to touch her...

But she was too late. Before Anna could even decide what to do, Elsa's mother had linked her daughter's arm, leading her away, past Anna and out of the shop. Like an invisible thread joined her eyes to Elsa's figure, Anna turned to watch her leave, though did not move herself. The way Elsa walked, the swaying of her hips held Anna captive while she hurried away, until those blue eyes enthralled her again when Elsa looked back over her shoulder. It was only brief, but to share a smile with Elsa made Anna's heart jump so much it gave her proof that all of this was real; Elsa wasn't ignoring her anymore.

Oaken broke her musings when he spoke. Anna couldn't tell what he had said, she was too lost in thought, but she turned to his friendly face and mumbled a vague reply. She looked back towards the door and Elsa had gone, yet this did not lower her spirits; Anna knew she would see her again, whether in a week or in a year, from a window or up close like today. And she would talk to Elsa even sooner. As soon as she got home, Anna would rush to her room and sit by the cracked wall to talk to her; they had a lot to talk about and Anna could not wait.

On shaking legs, Elsa walked home with her mother. Every step she took away from Anna made her thoughts more ordered and her heart slow down to normal, but even so, both her heart and her thoughts returned to Anna again and again.

She hoped her mother would not noticed how she'd changed, Elsa prayed she wouldn't mention seeing Anna, not to her or to the rest of the family, and thankfully she didn't. They talked of normal things, everything but their neighbours, which calmed Elsa, helping her to conceal all she felt.

Still, Elsa tried not to feel; the confusion of new emotions inside her was a sensation so strange that she knew she should disguise it. She couldn't let them know, couldn't tell, could not even simply say she had a friend, because Anna was not just a friend, she was so much more...

The desire to tell and share her joy threatened constantly. Elsa succeeded in front of her family for the rest of the day, considering it a minor miracle when the time came for her to go to bed. Her room and Anna had been calling silently inside her mind all day, that need to speak to her tugging at Elsa's heart like an unseen force, more powerful than anything else.

Even in these early days of her love, before she knew it for what it was, the feelings almost overwhelmed her. The more a fire is smothered, the hotter it burns and when Elsa locked the door and heard the sweet sound of Anna's voice, all her mental walls fell down to set that passion free in the safety of her room.

"Elsa! Seeing you today was... wonderful." Anna sounded quieter than usual, maybe even a little  _shy_ ; Elsa pictured her toying with her fingers in that adorable way of hers while she found her words. "You're so beautiful!" Anna continued. "Well, you always were, but now... You're so much...  _beautifuller_."

A giggle of amusement, mixed with nervous embarrassment passed Elsa's smiling lips, and Anna laughed, too, joining their voices together in a joyful harmony of pure elation. Neither had laughed so genuinely in a very long time.

"Thank you," Elsa said when she could speak again. The happiness didn't lessen, but Elsa had grown used to the feeling within her, the sensation in her head and heart that somehow let her put her thoughts into words more easily now. "I liked seeing you, too, without a window or a wall in the way... I'm glad you haven't changed too much, I'm glad you still have your freckles, they're... perfect."

Elsa could hear Anna's blush in the light little laugh that followed. "Yeah... I have so many more than when I was little, they're  _everywhere_."

Leaning closer to the wall, almost as if the break would widen and let her see through to the other side, Elsa let her words follow her heart. "I want to see you again, Anna." She did not say she wanted to see all of Anna's freckles, to count every one on her body; Elsa wasn't feeling  _that_  bold, so she continued. "I'll convince Mother to take me to Oaken's again soon. Will you make sure you're there?"

"I will, I promise, Elsa!"

Still riding on the rush of feelings from before, the feelings that had awoken when she set eyes on Anna that morning, Elsa decided to release some of the pain that had remained within her since the day she and Anna had been parted, hoping this new bliss would replace it in her soul. "I don't know how I coped before. I wanted to see you all the time, and now I can again - "

"I knew it!"

"Knew what?"

"That you didn't hate me!"

Anna's words took Elsa by surprise, to think it had ever entered her mind that there was hate between them... It was terrible! Elsa had to put it right. "Anna, of course I didn't. I... I never wanted to hide away, my parents made me! They said it was for the best. I'm sorry, Anna..." The realisation that she wasn't crying left Elsa amazed and slightly proud; it was a sign that they could leave the pain of the past behind and move on together. "I never meant for you to feel like that..."

"It's not your fault," said Anna, sounding just as determined as ever, full of forgiveness and justice. "You can't help what your parents did, no more than I can with mine. I know we would both change things if we could."

Their bond remained unbroken. After all they had been through, the same emotions still connected Anna and Elsa, influenced by forces beyond their knowledge. With no way of seeing that the girl on the other side did the exact same thing, as if the wall separating them was a mirror, Anna and Elsa each placed a hand on either side of the boundary between them. The wall stood in the way but both swore they felt warmth, though they knew not whence it came.

It would take more than the wall or their families' feud to keep them apart for much longer, the broken wall foretold of other breaks that began to show, and the girls' families were the first to notice.

Their daughters were acting differently, though with no apparent cause; Anna's eagerness to go out and help Hans and her parents with work and errands was met with surprise but never refused, to Anna's relief, and she seized every opportunity she could, all part of her plan to see Elsa again. Elsa became insistent, strong-willed as she had been when a child, taking as much freedom as she could get, and her parents never guessed the reason.

The sparks of childish feelings rekindled, transformed and now burned bright in secret, blazing every time Elsa and Anna spoke. And their joint plan worked, though it took some time, days or weeks, neither knew, but the next time Anna visited the trading post, Elsa was there, too.

Anna stayed hidden amongst the shelves when she saw Elsa and her mother arrive; Elsa was dressed just the same as last time, even her blonde hair in its braid looked as luxuriant as before; Anna felt as though she had been given a chance to live that meeting again and she didn't want to waste it.

She watched Elsa smile at Oaken and wished for that warmth and beauty to be aimed at her, how it used to be, before Anna had realised how precious every one of Elsa's smiles would become. Her mother spoke to Oaken, while Elsa drifted from her side and glanced around, waiting, though she had not seen Anna just yet, and Anna saw her chance.

She approached the other girl, slowly and quietly so she wouldn't scare her, placing every footstep carefully, determined not to stumble - though Anna's trembling excitement scared herself - and took the folded paper from her pocket; that was part of the plan Anna had not told Elsa about, a surprise she had arranged herself earlier that day.

Elsa turned her head a little, ever so graceful in her every movement, until their eyes met. The smile she gave Anna at that moment was stunning to see, and better than any other she had seen in her life. Pride stirred in Anna to know how she made Elsa feel; joy shone from every inch of her fair form, and she looked as if she would speak to greet Anna or laugh to let that joy go, but she knew to keep quiet, as they had both planned. They couldn't let anyone know, yet Elsa let Anna come close, close enough beside her to feel the warmth of her skin without touching. Anna could even smell the sweet scent of her hair, the same as it had been so many years ago, but now somehow more delicious, and it made Anna's heart beat so loud she hoped no one else in the store could hear it.

Elsa's sigh when she leaned towards her warmed the side of Anna's face with her sweet breath, and it occurred to Anna that she should be nervous standing this close to Elsa, yet she felt nothing like that, not scared at seeing the girl she had only dreamed of and spoken to, nor sad for all the time they'd lost; Anna felt none of those things, only the overwhelming  _rightness_  of being with Elsa.

Anna watched as Elsa lifted those blue eyes to her face and gazed into their sapphirine depths, just for a moment, before passing the piece of paper into Elsa's pale hand. She had folded it up small and had to press her hand to Elsa's, palm to palm so her note would be delivered and the words from her heart would find their destination.

When the paper reached Elsa's hand, a soft whisper reached her ear. Anna said her name, so quietly and yet her voice seemed so much closer without the wall between them, and the sound sent a shiver down her spine.

Elsa took the paper and wrapped her fingers around it, holding tight; it was warm from Anna's hand and Elsa felt her own hand grow even warmer, sharing that comforting heat.

The heat spread up to her face until her cheeks seemed to burn, and warmed her heart within, making it race with passion. Elsa's reactions scared her; it had never been like this when she and Anna were children. She watched Anna glance towards her mother, who had still not seen them, for which she was so thankful, but Anna didn't seem to want to risk anything more; she looked back to Elsa, those green-blue eyes sparkling beneath ginger eyelashes, and gave her a small half-smile before turning towards the door.

Elsa wanted to protest, to beg Anna to stay and spend the day, or the rest of their lives together, but she knew it was best not to ruin what they had, and to be grateful that she had that much...

She was there and gone so quickly, like the last time, only today had been so much better; now Elsa had touched Anna, and held the paper she had given, the warmth of her hand lingered on both her own skin and the folded note. At least, Elsa thought and hoped it was a note from Anna, but whatever it was, she gripped it tightly at her chest, placing her other hand on top. She would keep it secret and safe until the chance arose to look at it alone.

Her home seemed like a different place when Elsa returned, and her room more welcome than before; a sanctuary where she was free to speak to Anna and let go of her secrets. The moment she had shut the door behind her, Elsa took the paper from her bosom where it was hidden and curled up on the bed. She was glad to be sitting while she unfolded the paper, a wave of excitement overcame her when she thought that the last person to touch it was Anna, and it made her limbs tremble.

Elsa had guessed correctly, it was a short letter, and though she could feel Anna was not at home in her room next door, she had Anna's words in here with her and she imagined Anna's voice and face while she read them.

" _Elsa_ ," the note began, " _We can't change the past but when I'm with you I forget all the sad times. We were so close, only now I've decided I don't want to be like that again, I want to be closer. I promise that we'll be together if you want that too. I can't write down how you make me feel, Elsa, it's so amazing! While you're reading this, I'm thinking about you and of a way to see you, as always. Anna_."

Her handwriting was neat, yet free and flowing, so grown up compared to the sweet, childish scribbles Elsa remembered; Anna was just learning to write when it all began... But she tried not to think of the past. Instead, Elsa closed her eyes and held the letter to her face, breathing in the scent of the paper; a scent she told herself was Anna's. Tears formed on her eyelashes, tears of both bliss and sorrow, yet they did not fall.

Elsa kept her eyes closed and lay on the bed, wrapping her arms across her waist and clutching the note in her hand while her mind conjured daydreams of meeting Anna, and she eventually drifted off to sleep.

Later, by hours or minutes, she could not tell, five merry knocks on the wall jolted Elsa awake, and a voice even her most vivid dreams could not replicate called out. "Elsa, are you there?"

"I'm here!" she answered automatically, and, as quickly as her words had come, Elsa rushed up to the broken wall to hear Anna better. "Thank you for your letter." Elsa did not know how to voice her emotions and make them move Anna as Anna's written words moved her. And the unspoken tension troubled her, too; a tension stronger than the feelings between them the last time they had met in the store.

"You're welcome," came Anna's reply. "Thanks for reading it... You used to ignore all my notes when we were children."

"Anna," she began, not expecting the other girl, always so bright and positive, to remind her of their painful past. It made Elsa pause before taking the chance to explain the truth. "I didn't ignore them. I never got any notes from you. If I had... I would have written back... if I could..."

"It hurt, hearing nothing from you but silence..." Anna's tears flowed down her face, the sob in her throat stopping her from saying more. Anna had not let herself cry in a long time, had always told herself to focus on the good things in life, but it felt freeing to give in to her sorrow for a little while. And the tears and truth she heard in Elsa's voice assured her she was not alone anymore.

"I'm sorry."

Anna could not summon the words to reply, she wanted to tell Elsa that she was sorry, too, for making her apologise for something Anna knew was not her fault; neither of them were to blame for this separation.

"I wanted to see you," Elsa continued in a gentle murmur. "So much, all the time. And I still do, even more. Anna..." Elsa couldn't say it, but she knew this was love. This confusion of feelings between them was many things; it was as sweet as it was painful, it was soul-consuming and against everything she had ever known... yet it was love. One deep love to supersede the fear and guilt and pain, with time and with each other. "I want to be with you," Elsa said instead, knowing simply being together would be enough to solve it all, and the fire inside her heart burned so bright when she said it.

"Elsa..." Anna could not hear Elsa's thoughts but her own had reached the same conclusion; their two hearts beat as one, their two minds intertwined so even the wall between did not truly separate them. The only difference was that Anna had always known what she felt for Elsa was love, though she was not yet sure what kind of love it was.

Even so, she kissed her side of the wall where Elsa's voice was clearest. Anna pictured her there, her light-gold hair, her pale and blushing cheek, so vivid Anna almost felt warmth on her lips. When she opened her eyes, it was just the wall, as Anna knew it would be, and she hated it. "I wish this wall wasn't here. I'll break it down! Or at least make this gap wider so I can touch you," she said, tracing her finger over the fissure as if to start right then and there.

"Then everyone would find out, and we'd never see each other again," Elsa said, and Anna couldn't decide whether she was being pessimistic or realistic, but she knew Elsa was probably right. "It's not worth it, Anna," she continued. "Keeping things like this is better, and safer, too."

"I don't want to be safe," Anna replied, frustration and desperation showing in her voice. "I want us to be together." It wasn't much to ask, it had been that way once, and Anna didn't understand why they couldn't have that again. She sighed and leaned against the wall, letting it support her while she slid down to the floor and sat, resting her head on the boundary between them.

On the other side, Elsa sat in the exact same pose, but curled up small to comfort herself; unseen by either girl, the wall was like a mirror again, reflecting the love between them, their two bodies united by it, the twin flames of that love burning bright within them.

Elsa felt powerless regardless of her racing heart, her soaring soul. She, too, wished the wall did not exist. "But it's not just this stopping us..." she said, thinking aloud though feeling less alone with Anna listening.

Anna knew it well and wrapped her arms around her knees while she thought. "All we need is another way..."

But the wall was like their love, too; strong and enduring, yet it separated Elsa and Anna, for even without the wall or their families' argument, they could not be together in the way they were now realising they wished.

The world outside seemed distant to Elsa, as it always had since she was locked away from her friend and everything else, yet it felt even further now when she heard that Anna would be attending a masquerade ball that night. As Anna gave her the news, a pang of jealousy coursed through Elsa's being at the thought of missing such an important event in Anna's life, at not being there with her to share the fun and excitement of her first party, but she didn't let it show. "Have a wonderful time!" Elsa said, while she pressed her forehead to the fissure in the wall. Her hands were hot and damp with sweat, and she could hear her heart loud in her chest at the thought of Anna changing her dress just next door.

"I won't," Anna replied. "Because you're not coming."

The answer gave Elsa a thrill and a smile sprang to her lips, but she couldn't leave things as they were; even though she would not be there to share it, Elsa wanted Anna to have the amazing night she had dreamed of and deserved. "Don't think of it like that, Anna," she said. "I'll be here, and you can tell me all about it in the morning."

Anna meant what she had said, without Elsa there it would not be the same, but Elsa's words had convinced her and for her sake Anna would have all the fun she could.

Her earliest wish was to dance through the night at a glamorous party... and Elsa was always there. She couldn't live her dream tonight, yet Anna resolved to do as Elsa said and enjoy herself. And maybe sharing her memories of it with Elsa tomorrow would be just as good as being there together.

The time came for Anna to leave and make her first appearance in society. She knew she should be excited, though instead she could only think about how soon it would be before she could return to her room and talk to Elsa again.

Anna sighed and clutched her mother's arm when they entered the ballroom. She steeled herself for a night of wasted time that should have been spent with Elsa, but what Anna thought was going to be the worst night of her young life soon became the best.

It did not start so badly, and when she walked through the crowd with her mother, surrounded by music and light, the delicious scents of food and drink and perfume drifting to seduce her senses, Anna thought that maybe she would have fun here after all.

The many mysterious and marvellous masks worn by everyone, and the swaying fabric of the dancing couples transported Anna to another realm of wonder and she was ready to join in herself, until her mother guided her over to a young man she did not know. Her mother seemed to know him, though, and introduced them with a somewhat smug smile, since it turned out he was the son and heir to some duke Anna had never heard of until today.

"I hope you two get along very well," she said, and left Anna alone with her new acquaintance.

Anna took his proffered hand and they danced and talked for the longest time, but soon Anna realised that her mother was trying to set her up with this man. She had spent most of her life dreaming of love and marriage, and this realisation set her thoughts racing immediately.

She imagined getting married, the ceremony and the excitement, the freedom it would bring. And after, Anna could make her husband convince Elsa's parents to let Elsa live with them, too; it would be everything she had ever wanted and more. Anna kept these thoughts to herself, however, and knew none of what she wanted would work with the adamant plans he was telling her of.

The idea of marrying this man lost its novelty almost as soon as the possibility arose; it was nothing like Anna had expected it would be to meet a suitor. Their conversation was now more of a lecture as he talked all about himself while Anna listened and soon lost both patience and interest.

She couldn't see much of his face with the mask, though what was visible did not match Anna's idea of perfection, was not even close to it. Anna had always wanted to marry someone beautiful, tall and fair, someone who was so focused on making her happy that it inspired Anna to give that happiness back. He was none of those things. True, she did not really know him, but Anna already knew someone who always had been perfect, someone who still was... Elsa.

Anna shook him off and lost herself in the party, wandering through the sea of colourful outfits and masks until she stood amongst strangers. Warmed by wine and flattery, Anna danced with many men, some were nicer than others and most were excellent dancers, yet the ball did not match what she had been dreaming of, leaving her underwhelmed by all while the night wore on and the wine went to her head.

The people all around could not disguise the sense of incompletion Anna felt; she only wanted the company of one person, and Anna half-expected her to arrive at any second, or to turn and see her face amongst the crowd, but of course, she didn't.

Anna's thoughts seemed to be heard by the powers above, and as she helped herself to more wine, a blonde woman came to stand beside her and spoke, jolting Anna from her thoughts of other times and places.

"Your outfit is lovely! And your mask," she said, and Anna turned to see the source of the unexpected compliment.

She was not Elsa, but matched closely enough at that moment in time to have Anna enchanted. The stranger's figure looked shapely in a black dress, and though her voice was not quite melodious, it still sounded pleasant.

"Thanks! So are yours," Anna replied, and, in another decision that changed her life, Anna gave in to the impulse inside that was partly the alcohol, but mostly her own curiosity. "Shall we dance?"

The other woman agreed after a moment's hesitation, and they walked together to the dance floor; the fragrance of her perfume rose to Anna's nose with their movements, so unlike Elsa's sweet scent that she remembered so well...

She just wanted to get a little closer to how Elsa would feel in her arms, and Anna tried to make it seem more real by imagining Elsa's face where the woman's blank mask was. Her waist was slender, warm as Anna wrapped her arm around it, and her other hand clasped the soft fingers that gripped hers. Anna found herself thinking of the day she gave Elsa the note, and what would have happened if she possessed the courage to hold her like this then... The thought gave her a thrill and inspired Anna's steps as they began to dance.

They did not speak. The blonde woman seemed shy and blushed beneath her mask, but it was the best time Anna had all night; whirling to the music with her, the skirts of their dresses mingling together, pulling her closer, thinking all the time of Elsa. And it all stopped so suddenly when a hand grabbed Anna's arm.

Her mother led her through the crowd, the hum of voices loud over the music, and out of the building. Anna did not protest, she was too stunned, her head spinning from the wine and the dance and the speed of it all, and even more when the cold of the autumn night outside hit her and stiffened her limbs.

Saying not a word, her mother pulled her roughly until they sat in the family carriage; or rather, Anna slumped where she had landed, while her mother perched, stiff with anger, on the edge of her seat, opposite Anna.

"Why didn't you stay with the duke's son like I told you to?"

"You didn't tell me, I - " Anna began, but gave up any attempt to retaliate when she was interrupted seconds later.

"That's beside the point. You were dancing with a  _woman!_  It was unnatural, Anna."

Those words silenced her. Anna understood what it all meant now, and her insides twisted, whether from the lurching carriage or her own realisation she did not know, and she breathed deeply hoping it would pass.

Though there was something within Anna that she knew would never pass and she didn't want it to, even if it doomed her, for it was bad enough to have feelings for a neighbour her family hated, but the fact that she was another woman, too, made it all more complicated. Yet there was no doubt in Anna's head or heart that it was anything but right; she knew she loved Elsa, and would find out just how truly soon enough.

Anna did not deign to reply to the rest of her mother's admonitions and sat in silence in the carriage until the journey's end, thinking about the night's events - the worst night she could ever remember - and hating her mother for the part she played in taking Elsa out of her life; the thought of speaking, shouting all that frustration and making her mother understand tempted Anna so much, but she said nothing.

While all this went on in the world beyond her home, Elsa remained in her room, as she had every night for the past thirteen years. The house was silent, all within were asleep but Elsa, who could not put her thoughts to rest.

Anna had told her about the party and ever since then, images of Anna in her dress filled Elsa's mind. She had described the dress to Elsa and through the broken wall her words had become visions of the most powerful beauty Elsa had ever dreamed.

She knew the dress' straps sat off her shoulders, shoulders that Elsa guessed were covered in freckles, like Anna's cleavage that she knew could be seen above the low-cut bodice. She had been told that part of the dress was tight, black and patterned, and showed off Anna's slim waist. Lower still, Elsa knew she would see a flowing green skirt that floated prettily when Anna twirled around... But in Elsa's opinion, it was far from the perfect outfit, because a mask in green and gold concealed the freckled face she found so beautiful, and Elsa believed with all her heart that no part of Anna should be hidden away.

Elsa imagined herself freeing Anna's body from the confines of her dress and closed her eyes, unbuttoning her own nightdress, the touch making her imaginings feel more real.

Both she and Anna had women's bodies now, and women's needs with them; Elsa's desire had been building for a while, and it was time to let it go.

She lay back down when naked, and the cool sheets were wonderful against her smooth, bare skin; Elsa sighed. In her head she pictured Anna beside her in the bed, embracing her, their naked limbs entwined. The thought was more exciting than it should have been, but Elsa ignored all sense of "should" and "shouldn't"; it felt  _right_  and Elsa couldn't stop, didn't want to.

That heat, that pressure stirred deep inside when her imaginings intensified, seeing all of Anna's body and touching her, being touched, caressed in the way Elsa craved and needed. Her own hands were soft and warm, no replacement for the touch of Anna, but it still fulfilled her - as it had for years - and Elsa loved the feel of her own feminine flesh with a passion that words could not express.

Elsa traced her fingers up her naked body, her fingertips feather-light and igniting every nerve-ending in her skin until they rose to trace the round contours of her breasts. Cupping them, she pressed the yielding flesh with her palms before rolling her nipples between her fingers until they were stiff and sensitive, and made her gasp when she squeezed them.

She obeyed the need summoning her touch lower. Elsa's fingers made her shiver when she stroked one hand down slowly over her stomach, and lower still, through the patch of hair and into the wetness between her legs, feeling for that spot...

Breaths passed her lips loud and fast when Elsa touched it and sensation shot through her. She knew what to do, but was always slightly shocked by just how  _good_  she could make herself feel. The boredom of her life and curiosity about her body led Elsa to discover this method of sweet escape. Some books in her collection had started the itch, reading descriptions of women, their bodies and their beauty, never much but enough to spark a lust within her, and Elsa soon taught herself how to satisfy it, to make the rest of the world melt away for a while. She never told anyone, knowing it was something private, a secret to keep all to herself.

Elsa always enjoyed the feel of her own touch alone, the sounds and passions she could summon from herself were enough, but now imagining another rather than just the pure sensation she produced awoke an intensity like nothing else. It was almost like sharing that secret, intimate part of herself with Anna, and the thought of that sent a jolt of hot ice through her being, intensifying Elsa's pleasure with pictures of Anna's face, Anna's hands, Anna's body.

Her fingers worked faster down below, moving slick and quickened as they glided through her soaked folds, always returning to circle and press that point of pleasure near the top, her other hand still squeezing her breasts, tweaking each nipple in turn. What she could do for herself, and what she imagined she could do to Anna and Anna to her, amazed Elsa, and she thought of Anna's hand, when it had touched her own in the store, how warm Anna's skin had felt and that sense she had received that it was where it belonged. Elsa had only a brief, teasing taste of their connection that day, and she desired to make up for lost time, to reconnect with Anna completely and touch and touch as she did now with her own body. That touch had brought her to the threshold of pleasure, and Elsa felt it building still.

A moan escaped Elsa's mouth, loud in the darkness of the room around her. She thought of Anna, of making her moan like this, and it was as if Elsa's thoughts had summoned the other girl again when she heard the voice outside her own imaginings.

Anna had said goodnight and apologised to her parents, she did not truly mean her words, but she knew it had all bought her precious time with Elsa, since to punish her they would make her stay inside, not knowing that her room was exactly the place Anna wanted to be.

It was late and the only light came from the candle stub Anna carried, flickering as she slowly stepped into her room. She was normally asleep herself at this time of night, but Anna did not feel tired, the remains of the wine and excitement gave her energy. She knew Elsa would have gone to sleep hours ago so Anna crept around silently and shut the door without a sound, ready to go to bed herself and hoping not to wake Elsa in the room next door. Anna planned to wait for sleep to come, and simply lie there and think until it did, but she was jolted from her thoughts by a sound; a moan greeted her when she entered the centre of her room.

"Elsa, are you there?" she called, knowing the voice could only be Elsa's, but she wanted confirmation even so.

"Yes, wait... Anna, ah!"

"What are you doing?" Anna's curiosity made her ask; she had never heard Elsa sound like this before, though she had an idea what was occupying the other girl.

"I'm ... thinking about you..."

Her voice was so  _sensual_ , breathy and flustered as she stifled another moan. Anna had only heard moans like that from herself when... "Oh. You're... I'll..." Anna began when she realised, but she said no more, her thoughts overwhelmed by the pounding of her heart.

Anna's feet led her closer to the wall and she laid her hand against it, as if doing so would let her see and touch what was happening on the other side; a blush heated Anna's face at the sound of Elsa's panting, she could  _hear_  the heat of her breath.

And on the other side, the heat was as intense as Anna imagined. Sweat had begun to bead on Elsa's brow and her breaths came faster with every little movement of her fingertips on her swollen bundle of sensation.

Another moan passed her lips before she could suppress it; Elsa never normally let herself get so loud, and the reality of it all stirred shame strongly within her for doing this so close to the girl she cared about; because she felt not just lust for Anna, Elsa adored her more than anything, and in the back of her mind, this felt like a betrayal.

"I'm sorry, Anna," she managed to say, and tried to stop touching herself. But she couldn't; her body had not finished, so Elsa made her movements slower and took her hand from her breast, raising it to her lips to muffle her cries.

Anna felt no such shame, and instead a sense of clarity awoke in her mind while desire stirred in her body, so strong already and from Elsa's voice alone... Everything that had happened that night roused so many feelings in Anna and she now knew what they all meant; Anna only wanted one person to have and to hold, to give all her love in every way, she always had, always would do, and that person was Elsa.

Her hand shook when the revelation struck her, along with the knowledge that Elsa wanted the same. Anna set the candle down carefully and the flame began to burn bright and steadily, like Anna's desire, and her resolution.

"Don't be, Elsa," she said, and stepped out of her shoes. Walking towards her bed, Anna reached behind herself to unfasten her gown. She thought of the mask she had worn earlier and left on the carriage's floor, with her memories of the party, and in almost no time at all, Anna had removed her dress - she might have ripped the beautiful fabric but Anna did not care - and the final reminder of the party left both her body and mind.

In even less time, Anna stripped naked and lay back on the bed, spreading her legs. Her nipples stiffened, looking deep pink in the candlelight, and Anna brushed her hands over them, so lightly but the touch still sent shivers of pleasure to her core.

She brought her hands lower and let one rest in the warm hair between her thighs while with the other she sought the part of herself that throbbed. Anna gasped at how wet she was within her lower lips, she had done this before in exploration, to satisfy a curious urge, though there was no need like this those times, nor had her fingers ever felt so wonderful down there.

The thought of Elsa doing the same with her pale, slender fingers, touching herself, or touching Anna, drove her senses wild and made every little movement on her sweet spot send waves of pleasure coursing through the whole of her body; every nerve-ending, rippling to her fingers and her toes, all radiating from her centre and all because of Elsa. "I'm thinking about you, too," Anna said, her words dissolving into a moan she was surprised to hear come loud from her own mouth.

An answering moan was all the reply Anna received, and all she wanted, since it meant Elsa felt good, too good to speak, and all because she was thinking of Anna. Pride as well as pleasure flowed through Anna and edged her ever closer to the release she was aiming for.

In the darkness of the room now her candle had burned out, and from the clearness of Elsa's voice, she could be right there next to Anna, close enough to touch... Anna moved faster, increasing the delicious friction with her fingers, the little bud she focused on growing harder as she rubbed it. Knowing Elsa had the same, beautiful womanly body as herself, would be touching the same part that Anna now did to bring herself to bliss, knowing that if they were together they would both know exactly where to touch on each other's bodies, were facts so wonderful they made Anna's heart and soul soar, but she was dragged back to reality by the urgent desires of her body.

Anna needed more to reach that release she knew was coming and, following her instincts, lowered her other hand to slowly ease a finger into her wet core. The cries that left her lips grew louder, she could not control them, and when she slipped a second finger into her centre, pressing inside with them, filling herself, Anna lost any control she once had, letting her world become pure pleasure and  _Elsa_  from all the sensations, her touch and the sound around her.

Elsa's moan carried through the cracked wall when she rolled her finger on the nub within her folds again, this time to finish what she had begun. She quickened her pace now she knew Anna did the same, pressing harder until it was enough and she could feel it close, that climax...

And she moaned, long and loud. Elsa could not hold it back now she'd started, and it was all even better now Anna knew, and they were sharing something so private.

She heard Anna's bed creaking to a rhythm, and panting breaths separate from her own, so intimate that Elsa could imagine them together, more vivid than any time before. Behind closed eyes she saw Anna naked beneath her, the hair between her legs as red as that of her head, and her body felt the same as Elsa's own, as wet, as soft, as good; better, even, than this...

The climax surprised her when it came, and Elsa's eyes opened in the darkness, conscious only of the pleasure, the rhythmic clenching in her core. She couldn't hear what sounds she made until it passed and ended in a shuddering sigh.

But Elsa heard Anna's voice some moments later, the other girl's moans rising higher in their pitch until she could only hear gasps and soft, panting breaths.

"Anna?" Elsa asked, catching her own breath.

"Yeah..."

She wanted to say how much she desired, needed to make Anna feel good, to make up for all the pain she had caused, but Elsa didn't want to remind either of them aloud about those times when they had just shared such joy together. Instead she focused on the future, a future she knew Anna had expectant hopes for, and she knew the answer would be one that made her happy. "If we ever truly meet, can we... love each other?"

"Elsa, of course! But does that mean you..."

She gave a happy, laughing sigh to hear the words she had wished for, and to have the chance of expressing the feelings she had held inside since she had known them for what they were. "Yes, I love you, Anna."

"And I love you! This is... amazing! I can't wait until we meet again, and when we do, we'll be together forever."

"It won't be that easy, Anna..." Even though she wanted just the same as Anna, there were so many things she knew were stopping them, and things neither of them had even begun to consider. But Anna's optimism saved her yet again.

"We'll find a way, Elsa. I  _know_  we can."

And they were forced to find it quicker than either of them expected.

Just a couple of days later, a couple of days of secret pleasure, Anna and Elsa's worlds transformed, since it is often the way of the world that the sweetest things in life end soonest.

It had all been building for thirteen years, but the final factor that brought it all to breaking point came from Elsa's parents.

The day began the same as any other, until her mother came to her and led Elsa by the hand to the living room, where her father and brother stood waiting. At her mother's encouragement, Elsa sat, curious, and her mother sat beside her. She held her daughter's hand, and, with excitement in her eyes and smile and voice, told Elsa what she had clearly been waiting to say.

"Your father and I have started to look for a husband and a new house for you, Elsa!"

In the pause that followed while they all awaited her reply, Elsa recovered from her surprise and realised that this was all actuality - not a nightmare - and it was her own life they were discussing. Elsa had put up with having almost no control over her life since her childhood, but this was too much. It was time for her to take her life into her own hands for the first time.

"I don't want a husband," Elsa said, simply, taking her hand away from her mother's. "And I don't want to leave, this house is my home!"

"But you can make a new home." Elsa's mother wrung her hands together and from her expression, she had not been expecting her daughter to show such disobedience. She shared a glance with her husband before turning back to Elsa, more serious now. "You're of age, a grown woman, Elsa. And we've kept you safe long enough; you can't stay in your room your whole life."

"There are plenty of eligible young men in this city," her father added. "I'll invite them round and you can choose any one you like."

"But I don't - "

"They're all from good families," he interrupted. "We'll soon get you married."

Elsa recoiled from the encouraging touch of his hand. Her parents seemed like strangers to her now; they cared nothing for how she felt, just as they hadn't cared thirteen years ago when they took Elsa's only friend and all her fun away. They controlled her life, always, and Elsa believed as strongly and suddenly as she had just realised that no one should have such power over another person, because with it they had hurt her.

Lost for words, she stared wide-eyed at them and saw no care, not even from her brother who looked up sadly from the fireplace; Kristoff had not said a word.

But Anna cared. Elsa stood up from her seat and rushed from the room, running to where she would find the girl who had become so much more to her than friend or family.

She ignored the others' attempts to stop her and hurried as far away from them as possible - the tears blurring her vision were no obstacle since Elsa knew the way by heart, and it was her heart that led her now - until she reached her room at the top of the house and slammed the door.

Waiting not-so-patiently in her own room, Anna jumped with delight when the sound of Elsa's running footsteps and the slam of her door echoed loudly from across the wall.

"Elsa?" she called, clambering to her feet and dashing towards the fissure to hear more clearly.

"Anna!" Elsa replied in a voice broken and frantic.

"What's wrong?" Anna knew instinctively that whatever troubled her was serious; she had heard Elsa cry before, and they had cried together, but never had she heard such despair in her dear friend's voice.

Elsa explained it all, poured out her soul as tears poured from her eyes, and Anna listened, clenching her hands into fists.

The truth of her words arrived like an icy blast, Anna's first panicked thoughts were that all was ruined, that she had lost this girl she loved. Anna  _couldn't_  lose her again, not when she hadn't even truly got her back.

And in a moment of terrifying clarity, Anna remembered she would come of age soon, too, and could face the same situation. She had told Elsa the events of the party not long ago, and what her own mother had wanted to do, and Anna knew she was on borrowed time until her parents did the same as Elsa's.

And ever since what happened the night after the party... she felt so much closer to Elsa and more distant to her family than ever before.

Anna had reached that stage in her life when she was both a woman and a child, and right now, the child inside her wanted to curl up and cry, but the woman urged her to fight, to find a way out. And the woman won.

"Don't panic," she said, both to herself and to Elsa. "This just means we have to think of something sooner."

The sound of soft crying was the only reply.

Anna bit her lip and thought desperately for a few moments while her keen mind sought a way to both comfort Elsa and form a plan. "Think about all the places you told me you'd read about, and all the wonderful lands there are out in the world, you know how much I want to see them all..."

"So do I," Elsa said, her voice still strained from tears. "But we  _can't_."

Anna ignored her pessimism and tried a more direct approach. "Have you ever left the city?"

"No..."

"Neither have I. But we've both wanted to ever since we were little, and that's what I think we should do, as soon as - "

"Quiet, someone's coming!" Elsa whispered as loudly as she dared the moment she heard the sound of footsteps. There had been no one but herself in her room for ages, and the turning of the door handle felt like an invasion. Over the frantic beating of her heart, Elsa considered it miraculous that neither her nor Anna's family had caught them talking before, and that her mother did not seem to have noticed.

She came to sit beside Elsa on the bed, looking contrite when her daughter met her gaze.

"Elsa, I'm sorry we were so sudden with you. We won't continue if you really don't want to... You don't have to get married until you're ready."

Elsa avoided her embrace. "I don't trust you!" she exclaimed, and stared at her hands, shaking with fear and frustration; they stopped when she put her head in them.

"I understand," said her mother, her low tone disappointed. She placed a hand lightly on her daughter's back, but when the touch made Elsa flinch, she withdrew it. "You need some time by yourself... I'll see you at dinner, Elsa."

She said nothing and stared at the floor through her fingers, waiting while her mother slowly left, dreading that if she held out long enough against her parents' wishes, they would either force her into marriage or throw her out of the house altogether, leaving her homeless; Elsa didn't know what to expect from them after today.

At the click of the door closing, Elsa knew she could never go back to the times she wanted or hope to rebuild that happiness, and hot tears spilled onto her hands. She took a deep breath to compose herself, remembering Anna was waiting behind the wall, and stood up.

Pulling it so gently it didn't make the slightest creak, Elsa peeked out into the hall to check her mother had truly gone, and turned back when satisfied, remembering to lock the door behind her this time.

Alone with Anna again, Elsa took another deep breath and sighed; she could think clearly now, and pressed her lips as close to the broken wall as possible. "She's gone."

"I want to marry you, Elsa."

The power of Anna's love showed in her voice, even through the wall Elsa heard it, and her heart sensed it. They were the best words that had been said to Elsa in her life up to that moment, and it was so good to hear them, too good to be true... And they couldn't live on dreams anymore.

"We can't," Elsa said, her eyes brimming with tears yet again with the pain of it all. "I want it so much, but we're both women, it's not..."

"I don't care what other people think!" Anna countered, inspiring the same sentiment in Elsa, restoring her hope. "We'll leave the city and live together, live somewhere we'll be strangers, and if we pretend we're sisters, no one will ever guess the truth!"

Her determination was one of the many things Elsa adored about Anna, and it dried her tears, bringing a smile back to her lips. Though she still had questions, she trusted Anna already. "Where will we go? You and I have never even left the city, we don't know where we'll be safe."

"We'll go anywhere," Anna answered, simply. "Because I know when I'm with you I'm safe, and I'm home."

Elsa was struck speechless for a moment, but as soon as she found her voice again, they talked for the rest of the day, and by the next night they had formed their plan.

It was so simple that Elsa almost doubted it would work, but she was ready to risk absolutely everything for one chance of a life with Anna. They fixed a date and agreed that on that night, they would both sneak out and meet in the graveyard just beyond the city, where no one would disturb them. And then would come what they had both been waiting for; they would travel together into their future.

Elsa's family would miss her - she hoped so, anyway - but she planned to leave no trace of herself behind until a couple of months went by, when she and Anna had begun to build their life. Then Elsa would send a letter, telling her family she was still alive, yet not revealing the reason for her flight.

She wondered if they'd hear about Anna, wondered if they'd make the connection when the daughters of both families disappeared. Elsa knew they would worry... but she was ready to do it.

Elsa hadn't told a soul, though she silently said goodbye to her house since it was everything she had known her whole life, her home. Now Anna was her home, as Anna had said to her, and Elsa found her sorrow lessened when she remembered that.

Her pack sat on her bed, filled with the few clothes she knew were necessary, and items she had stolen, against her better judgement, from her own house. Yet money, a means of survival, was more important than morality now. And the few jewels she took were of no use to anyone hidden away; they were Elsa's birthright and she deserved them, as compensation for everything, taking them was justified. That was Anna's line of reasoning when she explained doing the same, and Elsa agreed. Besides, they did not take much, just enough.

She watched the sky from her window, waiting for night to fall, and the sunset seemed to be delayed. There was no sound of Anna in the room next door, so Elsa sat alone with her thoughts and rehearsed the plan in her head again and again until finally, darkness came.

Elsa left her room for what she realised was the penultimate time and found her family where she knew they would be, reading or watching the fire to pass the time before going to bed. She hugged each of them and wished them goodnight, almost in tears despite it all. It was the last time she would see them, Elsa knew it deep down inside, and she knew too that she had left them all with a good memory of smiles and embraces.

Once returned to her room, she lay in bed fully dressed, hot and uncomfortable beneath the blankets, restless and ready. But Elsa had to wait until everyone else was silent and asleep.

When she thought she couldn't take anymore and would risk everything right now and run for the door, the sound of her parents making their way up to bed reached her ears, and Kristoff's footsteps going into his room a little while later.

Elsa waited even more, as long as she could bear, and the worry of Anna waiting for her, doubting that she'd come, made up her mind that it was time to go.

Leaving her bed for the last time, Elsa draped her cloak over her shoulders and picked up her bag, carrying it on her back, light enough to be no burden. Carefully, without a sound, she crept downstairs, the only noises were soft snores from the bedrooms she passed by, and Elsa's own breath suddenly seemed so loud to her that the fear of being caught made her heart race. But her thin, supple shoes let her move silently, so Elsa had no need to worry. She kept going.

The full moon shone through the glass of the windows and the door when she reached the hall, and Elsa thanked it silently for being her guide that night, giving her the light to find her way. She knew where the key to the front door was hidden and took it from its cupboard drawer, glinting silver in the moonbeams, holding it tightly in her hand before putting it into the lock and turning. Every little sound made Elsa flinch, and pause to check if anyone else had heard, then thank the powers above that seemed to have ensured she was undisturbed.

She replaced the key and began to unfasten the door's other locks, placed there by her parents, so concerned about security since the feud had started, and Elsa pulled them back slowly, silently until each one was open. After turning the handle to open the door just wide enough to let herself pass through, Elsa stepped into the chill night air, turned, and with her hand on the wooden frame, guided the door until it was shut again.

And she was outside at last! It was difficult to hide her excitement and Elsa couldn't stop a smile from pulling at her lips. Anna's door stood next to her and she was tempted to wait right there for the other girl and walk with her, but no: Elsa knew she had to follow the plan.

It was bitter cold with winter so close, she pulled the cloak around herself and the hood over her head to hide her light-blonde hair; Elsa dared not risk being recognised now she had come this far. Luckily, there was no one around when she began to walk through the city streets, and those Elsa saw paid her no heed. She walked alone, the first time she had done so, but Elsa pretended Anna was there beside her, or behind her, just out of sight, and reassured herself that she would truly be beside her soon.

The way to the graveyard was not hard to find, and thanks to the full moon's light and the cloudless night sky, Elsa read and followed all the signs until the houses began to dwindle. She had reached the edge of the city and come to the place where her love and her life would be reborn.

Yew trees stood solemnly amidst the gravestones and here and there were white mulberry trees, too, their fruits like clumps of snow or frost on the branches, it was beautiful, and so peaceful.

Yet Elsa could not relax. She saw no one there, which stirred worry within her, unfounded worry, and relief, too. Elsa came to the largest tomb, famous throughout the city and known by everyone for the unique structure of its stonework and renowned inhabitant, even by both Anna and Elsa, who had never been there before, but had decided it was the best place to meet.

Placing a hand on the smooth, cold stone of the tomb, Elsa found herself wondering who had been the last to touch this stone before her, and who had been the first...

A white movement caught by the corner of her eye made her jump, but when Elsa turned around she saw it was only a milk-white cat coming towards her. The animal calmed her with its call and its warmth when it pressed against her legs. Elsa leaned down to stroke its smooth fur before the cat wandered off into the night, leaving her alone again.

Given new strength, she could not say from where, Elsa kept waiting, stunned by the reality of it all, that she was here, waiting for Anna so they could run away together... And so much could go wrong... Elsa did not dare to even imagine; instead she watched, and waited again.

"Elsa? Are you there?" Anna called when she found the path leading to the tomb. She had thought she saw something in the distance a few moments ago but could not be sure, she was starting to worry.

Then the rays of the moon revealed a sight to thaw her cold fear. A slender figure stood in front of her, Anna saw the mist of breath and two hands reach up to pull the cloak's hood down.

Elsa's blonde hair and pale skin were as bright as the moon, and the light of Anna's life. The ability to see, to touch her freely for the first time, to hear her voice clearly, not muffled by a wall and not in her memories made Anna's heart beat louder than ever before and a smile spring to her lips that she knew would never leave.

"I'm here, Anna," Elsa said, and held out her hand, trembling like the first time they had seen each other in the store, but there was no need to be nervous now; they were free.

Anna ran to her and wrapped her arms around her waist, she felt Elsa's encircle her shoulders not a second later and heard a small, happy sound leave Elsa's lips, so close to her ear.

This was better than any embrace they had shared all those years ago, then they could never be so close, and now, the curves of Elsa's breasts and hips were soft against her own as they held each other tight, enveloped in their embrace. They fitted together perfectly and the sweet scent of Elsa's skin was all around her, it still lingered when Elsa pulled away and cupped Anna's face, stroking her thumbs over her cheeks, and Anna knew she was admiring the freckles there on her face that was warm and flushed with rushing and Elsa's touch.

Anna leaned up, almost on tiptoe - Elsa had always been taller - and paused before the most important and beautiful moment of her life began. She looked at Elsa, so close in front of her that she felt the sweet breath on her face through those red lips, slightly parted... She could see every one of the golden lashes that closed over those deep blue eyes as Anna leaned in to bring her own lips to meet Elsa's.

Then they were lost together in frozen time. Anna was only aware of Elsa, her warmth and softness, and the amazing thought that Elsa, so beautiful and lovely, let Anna kiss her, and kissed her back. The press of their lips together was the most intimate thing Anna had ever felt, and even more when Elsa opened her mouth on hers. Anna's opened, too, and her tongue brushed Elsa's, so warm and wet and closer than ever so she forgot where Anna began and Elsa ended.

They did not have to be daughters of the Arendelle and Westergaard families anymore, just Elsa and Anna, joined together in love.

After sharing a tender glance, Anna's hand found Elsa's and the place where it belonged. They left the graveyard and the city with all their memories, ready to make new ones together. Nothing would keep them apart again. Without looking back, they left the past in the past and started their life together; forever Anna and Elsa, and their shared freedom.


	16. In Venere Veritas

Through the haze of sleep she awoke, her body hot, though Elsa knew the window was open; she had ensured it was before she slept, opening it wide to cool the room. Lifting her eyelids, still heavy, she looked to the curtains across from her and searched for the breeze that should be stirring them. Seeing none, feeling no ease to the heat, Elsa pulled down the covers of her bed instead and freed herself to her waist, but it did no good, and she feared no more sleep would come that night.

The low moon shone through the window, however, and it seemed the night was still early, just passed through twilight. The moonlight was so bright, glowing from the full orb in the dark blue sky. Elsa stared at it for a few moments, yet it was neither the light nor the heat that had woken her. She sensed something else, shifted her hips and legs still under the blanket and was aware of a vague tingling arousal, a faint tightness inside, between her thighs; the vestige of a dream? Not quite that either... Elsa raised herself to sit up, leaning on her hands and staring at the moon.

"I was wondering when you'd wake up."

The sound cut through the silent night, though the voice was soft, and Elsa's eyes snapped to its source. A woman sat on the end of her bed, a naked woman possessing shapely breasts and curves that Elsa took in with a glance, accompanied by the pounding of her heart.

More heat spread through her body when Elsa saw the woman, blossoming in her cheeks and chest, making her mouth open with awe and for air as she looked at all her features, freckles on her comely face and shoulders... And behind her...  _feathers_  that almost blended into the moonlit white wall of her room, but when Elsa looked closer now, she could clearly see they belonged to two wings protruding from the woman's back.

Curiously, Elsa felt no fear. "Is this a dream?" she asked, to herself, to this beautiful being, whatever she was. Those eyes... Intense, wide, almost unblinking and utterly focused on her; Elsa had only been looked at like that in her dreams yet she felt very much awake, with all of her control, all of her consciousness that she never had in her night-time fantasies.

"No, you're not dreaming, Elsa," said the woman, but this still did not convince her.

"How...? Who...?" Elsa began, and there were too many questions to continue. She brought her hand to her head and focused on the reality of her own touch; that was same as ever, at least.

The woman's hair was red, revealed by the moonlight when she leaned towards Elsa on one slender arm, smiling a smile that made her feel at ease.

"You can call me Anna," she said, raising a hand to press her freckled chest, over her heart. "You need me, because there's no True Love in your life. You can love, I know you can; you're the most loving person...  _ever_ , Elsa. But you've never known love in return, or even tried to find it."

Elsa watched while Anna lowered her hand to the bed, resting it nearer to her, though they still did not touch. Even so, she felt the pressure of the redhead's movement and thought she might believe her words if she could feel that freckled skin against her own; she still judged this all a fever dream or vivid fantasy. Elsa's eyes raised themselves to her lips when she began to talk again.

"I've come to you for a reason; nobody wants to be alone, Elsa."

She voiced thoughts that Elsa had kept secret for a very long time. So long, indeed, that when she found herself agreeing with what the redhead said and reawakening her yearning for companionship, Elsa suppressed it again immediately.

Alone but not lonely, that's what Elsa told herself she was. The reason for her singleness and few friends was her job, she always said. Being the archivist at the city's ice harvesters' guild was surprisingly hard work, and surprisingly good money. It was a career that suited her, Elsa had been called an "ice queen" through her younger years, since then, as now, she never let anyone into her life. She had her reasons, but concealed them well and decided when grown to live up to her name. In her office and the guild archives all day - sorting, analysing and filing ice records - Elsa barely exchanged a word with anyone else each day, and with no other women there for her to be interested in, it was the best place for her, as far as Elsa was concerned. And anyway, she firmly believed that to have a lonely heart was better than a broken heart.

But none of that mattered now. A stranger was in Elsa's house, on her bed, naked and staring at her. A very strange stranger... And how did this woman know about her? Elsa looked at her again and didn't need to ask how she got here; with those wings and that knowledge of secrets known solely to Elsa, only one thing made sense... "You're a goddess."

Anna nodded, spreading her wings proudly so Elsa could see her pure-white pinions before she returned her gaze to those ripe, smiling lips.

"Well, even if this isn't a dream," Elsa said, her eyes still on that smile while her palms began to sweat, finding that the words kept coming from her own mouth without heeding the growing needs of her brain and body. "You can fly back out again. I have to sleep, and I don't believe in 'True Love.'"

Elsa closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose momentarily to distract herself from all the feelings rising inside. She had given up on love long ago. Elsa had wanted it once, yet affection eluded her so much that she decided it did not exist, for her, anyway.

Since then, Elsa did not warm to people easily. But she somehow felt at ease around Anna, felt that she knew her already. Elsa opened her eyes again and let them wander to the other woman's bare breasts, the nipples half-stiffened. Elsa realised she was wet between her legs, and when she brought her thighs together it sent waves of hot arousal rippling to her nipples as she looked at Anna... who was clearly not a person and was making her very warm indeed, already.

Yet Anna behaved just like the young woman she appeared to be as she folded her arms over her freckled bosom, while her wings folded behind, her face tenacious and determined.

"I'm not leaving until you've tried, Elsa. I can wait." Stubborn and confident as a girl of eighteen... "I suggest you try it once," Anna continued. "If you don't like it, I'll leave and I won't visit you again."

Elsa knew what "it" was, the "True Love" she had mentioned before, and that must include the physical form, otherwise she wouldn't be naked.

Anna uncrossed her legs, giving Elsa a glimpse of the hair in between them; she paused to ponder Anna's scent, Anna's taste... and her attention was jolted back to Anna's face with her next word.

"Well?" she asked, a ginger eyebrow raised; Elsa must have been wondering for longer than she realised. But the brief sight had changed her mind and sparked a fire within her. She wet her lips and took a breath before speaking the reply that would change her life. "All right. I, I will. And... what if I do like it?"

Her eyes met Elsa's, softening in their expression again. Anna was like all of Elsa's fantasies at once; and she had always had a weakness for redheads, their rare, exquisite beauty was something to treasure... She lowered her gaze to Anna's womanhood once more when she stood seconds later and turned towards Elsa; the patch of copper curls was completely perfect, just like the rest of her body.

Unfolding her arms, Anna revealed those pert, round breasts to Elsa again. But, conscious that she was staring, Elsa looked away to her slim waist and womanly hips that swayed slightly with Anna's steps as she came closer.

A new stab of arousal struck low in Elsa's stomach, and she tried to swallow her nervousness though it felt like her heart was in her throat, beating loud.

The goddess sat beside her, so close Elsa sensed the heat of her skin at the edge of her perception. Frozen, but not in fear or panic, Elsa found her eyes were the only parts of her body that did not tremble when she moved them, so she gazed at all of Anna's form now fully revealed to her in their proximity. Elsa could see freckles adorning the top of each breast, her shoulders, too, her arms and cheeks, and the top of her nose, that Elsa noted was small and cute. Anna's eyes were an enigmatic blue-green, her pink lips curved in a smile and, this close, when she spoke, her voice was so clear it sent a shiver to Elsa's core.

"I'll stay forever," Anna said, simply, convincing Elsa even more that this was all just a vivid and beautiful fantasy that she would wake up from soon enough.

"So," Anna began, and Elsa could sense her excitement, see it in the glint of her eyes. "What shall we do? Tell me what you want. Because we can do  _anything_ : we could snuggle, read together..." She checked them off with her fingers as she went on. "We can just talk like this. Or sleep together,  _literally_. And of course, we could always, you know..." She trailed off with a half-smile on her lips, and Elsa could see she was totally at ease, feeling the same herself; there was no pressure from either of them. Elsa watched Anna lace her slender fingers together and lower them to her lap, waiting for a reply.

She wanted to talk with Anna, wanted Anna to hold her all night, and would have gladly asked to do just that if those had been the only things Anna offered. But she had told Elsa they could do  _anything_. And for the first time in forever, Elsa listened to what her heart needed, what her body craved. She let go of everything stopping her, there was no past, no future, only now; now or never. With this goddess, with... Anna, she could learn, explore what she always wanted, even if it wasn't real.

Looking at her beauty and those eyes on hers, Elsa saw in their uniquely-coloured depths that Anna was waiting and  _wanting_ , stirring the want inside herself so Elsa couldn't hold it back anymore; though her request came out shy and hesitant.

"Can I, um... touch you?"

"Yes! You can touch me, you can kiss me..." Anna lay down beside her, white wings folded flat beneath her body, green-blue gaze fixed on Elsa's. "You can touch me anywhere you like, Elsa."

Anna's lips were parted, moist in the moonlight, she looked up at her with expectant eyes, summoning Elsa closer. Slowly, prolonging her own torment, she pulled the covers off herself completely, exposing her bare legs to the night air. Elsa shuddered despite the nightgown she wore and the heat within her body, and felt her nipples stiffen underneath, the fabric of her garment brushing against them when she shifted and leaned over.

Still slow, and with trembling limbs, Elsa brought her face closer to Anna's; the other woman was waiting, her hot breath warming Elsa's lips. But Anna did not move to close the distance between them, despite the desire Elsa felt radiating from her like the heat of her breath. She almost pulled back when she sensed that desire, and paused.  _Now or never_ , Elsa told herself. She exhaled a shivering blast of breath, before closing her eyes and claiming Anna's mouth with her own.

Elsa's body responded instantly, a warm tingling spread all over her, emanating from their joined lips. For a split second, Elsa stiffened, breathless, then slowly relaxed into Anna. Her lips were soft, wet and yielding, but pressed against Elsa's own as Anna gently kissed back. The sound of their mouths when Elsa pulled away gave her flutters in her stomach, making her heart beat louder.

That kiss awoke part of Elsa she had waited and wished for, and for far too long. She opened her eyes, eager to see Anna's reaction.

The redhead lifted her lids, her long eyelashes glittering ginger in the light. "It's not so bad, is it?" she asked, reflecting Elsa's joy back to her in her smile.

"It's wonderful," Elsa breathed, before her own lips curved to match Anna's.

"You're good at this, for your first time." She raised her hands to hold Elsa's face, the heat of her palms blending with the blush still blazing there.

Emboldened by the compliment and that warmth, Elsa kissed her again. More comfortable with the feel and movement of their mouths together, she became aware that she was lying beside Anna, leaning over her, and Anna was still naked; they were separated by only the thin fabric of Elsa's nightdress. She was curious, and Anna  _did_  say Elsa could touch her anywhere...

With her eyes still closed but her mind managing to focus away from her lips, Elsa lifted a hand and found the curve of Anna's breast, cupping the soft mound. Her thumb brushed the nipple, making it harden at once; it felt... real, and Elsa squeezed the yielding, warm flesh with her whole hand.

She did not recall when their kisses became open-mouthed but soon Anna's tongue stroked Elsa's slowly, probing keenly between her lips in a most exquisite way while her own was free inside Anna's mouth, tasting her sweetness. And then their tongues were writhing together in an intoxicating dance of desire, awakening more boldness and need in Elsa.

Anna's other nipple was already firm to her touch when she raised her hand to squeeze its matching softness, to press the two mounds of feminine flesh together, relishing the little moan Anna made into her mouth. Her breasts filled Elsa's hands perfectly, and she thought all of this was somehow familiar, though it could just have been how comfortable she was growing as the two of them were getting closer, beginning to join, and Elsa forgot the thought when Anna's hands rose to thread her fingers through her hair.

Parting their mouths, Elsa stayed panting there for a moment, staring at Anna, who stared back and grinned up at her. She wanted to renew their kiss, but at the last moment, pressed her lips to Anna's collarbone instead, then kissed lower to the freckles further down, her mouth following her hand's earlier path.

Elsa lowered her palm to stroke along the curve of Anna's waist, moving her hand out of the way so she could obey her increasing lust and take Anna's nipple into her mouth. Caressing its firmness with her tongue, Elsa savoured the flavour and sensation before she released it, wet and red, to look up at Anna, finding her cheeks flushed. Breaths came quick and panting from her open lips, and her eyes sparkled as they looked deep into Elsa's, like Anna was seeing into her soul, holding her captive for a moment until, in one quick, deft movement, she pulled Elsa down and rolled her over so she lay underneath instead.

The fluttering in her stomach returned and her heart was thumping so loud that Elsa couldn't hear her thoughts. Luckily, she did not need to think, being perfectly content at that moment to simply gaze at the beauty of Anna above her. She straddled Elsa's hips - her weight and warmth unfamiliar and not uncomfortable - with her chest thrust forward, her breasts protruding firm and proud with arousal, rising and falling to the rhythm of her breaths. Her wings spread themselves behind as Anna moved her bare legs against Elsa's, rubbing the velvet softness of their skin together.

Elsa liked this position just as much and reached up to touch her, letting her appreciation show in her eyes and her smile, a smile mirrored by Anna until the redhead hooked her thumb under the low sleeve of the nightgown on her reaching arm and leaned to press a kiss on the inside of her elbow, and a moment later, on her wrist.

Amazed that her arm had not flinched at the touch that sent such tingles from Anna's lips, Elsa lowered her other hand to let it tangle itself in the sheets at her side and tried to slow the speed of her breathing and her beating heart.

But her attempts were in vain because, a few short, sweet seconds later, Anna released her arm and stroked her hot hands down to her thighs, climbing off so she could lift one of Elsa's smooth, long legs.

A loud gasp left her lips when she felt fingers on the back of her knee and Anna's warm palm cupping, supporting the flesh of her calf while she encouraged Elsa to bend her leg. The skirt of her nightdress fell to cover Elsa's crotch when she did so, and she was still clothed, but what Anna did next made Elsa feel naked; truly naked, body and soul.

It was such a simple action, all she did was lightly kiss the top of Elsa's foot, and it sent a shiver all the way up her body. There was magic in Anna's lips. Elsa still felt their imprint on the other parts she'd kissed, just normal areas of her body to which Elsa gave no thought, yet now Anna had changed them into patches of pleasure that felt  _amazing_. Anna seemed to find them amazing too, since she had uttered moans of bliss with every kiss.

Elsa had never let herself touch another like that, with such hunger, freedom, unrestrained passion. She wanted to, oh how she wanted, and now Elsa had the chance... Anna radiated love and roused in Elsa the desire to join with her, growing in intensity every second.

All remaining hesitation left Elsa's mind when Anna's hot tongue licked up the sole of her foot, and she whimpered that such a part of her body could be so sensitive as the sensation travelled all the way up to her heart and stomach and loins to throb there. Her awareness went with it, making Elsa conscious that only a thin veil of fabric separated Anna from her core, and conscious of the wetness gathering there. And Anna's mouth was so skilled, the things Elsa imagined she could do... The words that left her lips were just as wonderful.

"Do you want me to stop?" Anna asked, and Elsa saw concern in her eyes, which she knew must be worry at the noise she had made.

"No." She swallowed and summoned more words but her voice was raw, ready to speak the language of moans and sighs for the rest of the night. "Don't stop. Please..."

Anna grinned. "I never want to stop, you're so delicious, Elsa."

Elsa was content to let Anna taste her, elated to let Anna show her "True Love" if it was as blissful as this... Anna placed her lips on Elsa's lily-white foot again, making her gasp at the glory of it all. And it had not even begun.

Anna put her leg down, leaving it to fall limp onto the bed, still tingling from her touch, but Elsa paid it no heed and watched Anna lean over her once more, looking right into her eyes until the last moment before they were kissing, their lips caressing each other, Anna's tongue licking, seeking an entrance.

In that kiss, every atom of Elsa's being opened to let Anna in; her wet lips parted, her legs spread and Anna moved between them, flicking her tongue to stroke Elsa's just for a second.

Elsa opened her eyes when Anna pulled away and stayed a few inches from her face, breathing hotly onto her moist and open lips until Elsa thought she couldn't take any more suspense, waiting for Anna to make the next move. At last it came, in a sweet, warm whisper.

"I want to know what you feel like inside, Elsa."

Elsa's eyes widened at her words, they left her breathless for a moment. All this  _had_  to be a dream, but after Elsa blinked, Anna was still there, she had not moved. She nodded - not knowing what words to say to such a request, not trusting herself to speak, even if she did - more frantic and shaking than she had wanted, yet Anna understood, and shifted herself backwards.

Raising her neck to look, Elsa froze in anticipation while Anna lifted the hem of her nightdress with one hand, and the other slowly, experimentally pressed her sex, bringing two gentle fingers between her lower lips and into her soaking folds.

Breaths passed fast and ragged from her mouth as she watched Anna watching her, and Anna moved her fingers, even slower than before, lower down Elsa's slit until they entered her. First one, then a second slid inside until Elsa felt herself slick and tight around Anna's fingers. They felt within, caressing the wet flesh, and Anna eased them deeper so her movements made a soft, moist sound. She seemed to be searching for a spot to make Elsa moan, because when she got that moan, after she had curled her fingers and pressed against a point hidden inside her, Anna teased, left Elsa and licked the wetness off her fingers. Though there was no teasing in her words.

"Do you want me, Elsa?" she asked.

"Yes..." Elsa breathed immediately, leaning up to kiss her, curious to taste herself on Anna's tongue.

But Anna guided her up with warm hands on her shoulders, two fingers damp on one of them, and began to help Elsa undress. She lifted the nightgown up, over her hips and waist and breasts while Elsa extracted her arms from the sleeves, then took the crumpled fabric from Anna's grip, pulling it over her head. Together, they revealed Elsa's naked beauty to the night and Anna's eyes, making them both equal. Elsa flung the garment aside.

Touching Elsa's face with her fingertips, Anna broke the steady silence of their shared breaths with the sweetest words Elsa had ever heard.

"I'm glad. Being with you, seeing you like this..." Her eyes wandered down appreciatively to her breasts for a moment, returning back to meet Elsa's with even more passion in them. "Elsa, you're the most beautiful mortal woman in the world."

All Elsa could do was shiver when Anna caressed her cheek, her neck and behind to her braid, wrapping her fingers around the thick, blonde tresses hanging plaited behind her back. Probing in between the woven sections with her fingertips, Anna began to undo Elsa's braid and free her hair; Elsa always braided her hair before she slept to keep it neat, and she knew that loosening it would leave it tangled in the morning, she hoped to wake up with hair full of tangles after the things she and Anna would do tonight...

They combed out Elsa's hair, their fingers mingling together within the soft strands, and Elsa looked in amazement at the expression on Anna's face while she stroked her hair and her fingers, seeing a pleasure there that she felt herself; the soft, sensuousness of both her own body and what Anna could do with her were awakening, encapsulated in Anna's smile.

Freed, Elsa's smooth blonde hair was almost long enough to sit on and flowed down her naked back in a sensation so sublime it sent a shudder of bliss straight through her. Anna had kept a strand between her fingers and Elsa watched her let it glide through them.

"It's brighter than spun gold..." she mused, before bringing her gaze and her fingertips to Elsa's face again. "You couldn't be more perfect if I made you myself."

"I could say the same," Elsa replied with a smile, leaning into her tender touch and wondering if Anna had that power, the ability to bring life... Elsa wondered at all the powers that dwelt within the fingers holding her face; she had felt some of them... The things Anna made her feel and do already...

The freckled cheeks flushed and shifted with Anna's smile, and she touched Elsa's lips as if to thank her for her words. Light, almost tickling strokes on her lips made them tingle in a way Elsa had never felt from her mouth before, and Anna knew, changing her movements to make their lips and fingertips blend into a symphony of bliss.

A strong want sparkled in Anna's eyes. "I chose you because you're so beautiful, Elsa, and I'm going to give you the love you deserve."

Such wonderful words set Elsa's heart pounding again. Her lips opened, but Anna's fingers left them. Elsa lifted her own to touch Anna instead, desperate to keep their connection. Cheeks and jaw and chin, all of Anna was so deliciously warm and soft, like nothing Elsa had ever felt before. "Are you real?" she asked, still in disbelief of all this beauty in her life, hers to touch and love.

"I can prove it to you," Anna said, grinning and lowering her eyelids in a look of lust as she clasped both of Elsa's wrists. "If you can't believe what you see..." Her sultry whisper was as soft as her fingers and she guided one of Elsa's hands down, stroking the other with her thumb. "Maybe you can believe... what you feel."

And suddenly, in an exquisite moment that Elsa never forgot in all her days after, her hand was in the hot wetness between Anna's spread legs. The goddess gave a shuddering gasp when they connected, covering Elsa's fingers in her essence, and her face in a blast of sweet breath. Though Elsa forgot to breathe while Anna's secret heat seemed to travel all the way up her arm to her body and made it burn, so intense she had to take her hand away. Elsa still wanted her, even more now she believed Anna's reality, but she didn't know where to start; there was too much of Anna that she wanted to touch and taste and caress...

As if reading Elsa's mind, Anna's questions and suggestions helped her decide and focus her desires. "Do you want me to touch you first? Or I can touch you, or we could both touch each other..."

The ability to breathe and speak returned long enough for Elsa to whisper a single word. "Together..."

She almost forgot again when Anna kissed her, renewing the passion of before, releasing her mouth a sweet moment later to do as Elsa had done and move lower.

Anna's breath warmed the skin between her breasts, she was so close to her cleavage, close enough to bury her tongue in there, and Elsa hoped she would. Instead, Anna cupped the womanly mounds with her palms and moved closer to press the soft flesh against her face and make Elsa gasp.

Elsa knew her breasts were a little bigger than average though so far in her life she had never given them much thought. But Elsa was so proud of them now, with the knowledge that a goddess loved them, and the way she made them feel.

Her eyes closed in bliss, Anna lightly pinched Elsa's pink nipples, stroked softly on the tips to send shockwaves down through her core. They were so close that Elsa could feel Anna's own hardened nipples pressing into her stomach while she kissed and kneaded the yielding white flesh.

Elsa thought her breasts couldn't get any more sensitive, her nipples were so stiff she feared they would somehow explode if Anna did anything more to them, yet it changed into a different sort of pleasure when Anna clamped her hot mouth over each erect little tip and made her whimper.

She whimpered louder with the mix of feelings that stirred as Anna stopped and gave her a chance to recover.

"You know, you have the warmest heart in the world," Anna murmured, raising herself above Elsa's breasts in this pause from passion to place her palm against Elsa's heart and kissed the pale flesh there, making it beat louder for her.

Anna held her, almost limp and overcome with love, guided her with strong, caring arms so she lay beneath, panting in anticipation; Elsa spread her legs, letting Anna kneel between them, and reached up to her, her touch following Anna downwards, brushing her shoulders, then her hair as she kissed lower, and lower...

The first of Anna's breaths on her sex took Elsa's own breath away for a moment, she regained it again only to gasp when Anna kissed her there and exhaled again after, making Elsa writhe. Everything had built to this... Elsa was being shown so much love, but she had just as much to give, too. Had Anna forgotten? She wanted them to come together.

Elsa tried her name on her tongue for the first time. "Anna, can I...?"

"Oh, yes!" Anna raised her head. "Sorry, everything else slipped my mind for a second, there. You're so delicious, Elsa; I can't wait to taste you again... And for you to taste me."

Anna gave her hand a squeeze while Elsa blushed at the carnal look in her eyes, feeling her cheeks turn crimson. They burned even brighter when Anna got up on her knees, dropping her hand to turn around, and let Elsa see her firm, round backside and the dimples above. She positioned herself onto Elsa's chest and slowly leaned over, displaying the lips of her womanhood, so close Elsa could see the pink inside; her folds were wet and beautiful.

Kisses up the inside of her thigh distracted Elsa, reminding her how much she wanted to please Anna. She had never seen inside another woman before, and to Elsa, there was no sight more enticing; basic instinct took over, she couldn't stop herself.

Elsa brought her hand above to touch Anna's womanhood and the red hair her fingers found there was warm and soft. Leaning closer, she could smell the scent of Anna's arousal, making her mouth water with its deliciousness; she swallowed the last of her nervousness, then joined her lips to Anna's lower ones, feeling the wetness on them as she kissed the secret, feminine flesh.

Anna's were on her own down below, her hot tongue gliding along Elsa's most intimate area, and she could not suppress the moan, low in her throat.

After pausing to take a breath, the passion, the skill Anna showed in her own sex inspired Elsa with an ardent fervour herself, and she returned her tongue to her lover's womanhood. Elsa licked up the luscious folds, every little flick of her tongue eliciting moans and cries of ecstasy from Anna. She explored the many delectable textures of her until she found one spot that made the redhead tense above her when she touched it, and came back there to circle the little nub again and again, as Anna did, too, to her own.

Anna's mouth parted from her slit, leaving it tingling for more while she cried out praise, giving Elsa's ears just as much joy. "Elsa! You're amazing!"

Those words made Elsa so happy, she tried to reply, extracting her tongue and lips from Anna's centre, but cried out instead, distracted by what Anna was doing; Elsa's mouth released the pleasure she had kept inside while discovering the wonders of Anna, and now the wonders of her Divine lover's talents gave Elsa no choice but to thrust up towards her hot tongue. Anna was using her fingers, too, so skilled and inside her again, this time with an intent to finish what she had begun. Elsa's back arched against her bidding and her thighs tensed, closing together.

Anna parted them with a firm touch of her hand, spreading Elsa's legs again. "It's wonderful down here," she gasped. "But I need to breathe!"

"I'm sorry!" Elsa called down to her.

"Elsa, stop worrying," Anna reassured her, softly stroking her leg before finding her hand and giving it a squeeze. "You're perfect."

Elsa blushed so fiercely at those touches and that compliment, and she was hot all over when Anna buried her face back between her legs. Elsa did the same and licked at Anna's folds once more, fingering her sensitive bud, sucking and stroking the rest of her womanhood while Anna's juices dripped into her mouth with a taste like no other.

Proud she could concentrate so clearly with the magic Anna was working on her own sex, Elsa let go of Anna's hand. She soon felt it grab the flesh of her inner thigh, stroking sensual circles there while she leaned back to see Anna's entrance above; her two fingers slid inside smoothly to be encased in wetness and hot muscle, and she began to move them to a rhythm.

Her other hand was restless, Elsa let it grab the firm flesh of Anna's backside above, kneading, feeling the muscles tense as she thrust and rocked to the pace of their passion.

Anna's moans were music when Elsa tilted her neck to let her tongue flick the stiff little bundle of nerve-endings, that one area of extreme pleasure on her lover's body, and her fingers inside found the other. Elsa got the sudden feeling that Anna was  _hers_  when she heard those rapturous cries rise up, and she took a few deep breaths of happy triumph before she returned to suck that little bud, stroking her fingers to the same rhythm, pausing between her strokes to pant and moan.

The pleasurable pressure built up even more, tightening inside Elsa. From the shift in Anna's muscles, she was close, too, and suddenly her inner walls clenched Elsa's fingers, squeezing them with the spasms of Anna's pleasure. But Anna was still sucking Elsa's sex, moaning loudly at the same time, and Elsa's world disappeared until there was only Anna's touch, scent, taste, and her tongue chased Elsa over the edge to her own release.

They fell apart together but through it, Elsa kept thinking of the intimacy of it all; she had made Anna climax with her mouth, made Anna inundate her lips with her sweet essence, and she was shuddering in Anna's mouth... The next second Elsa forgot everything and let the shudder spread all over. She had never come so powerfully in all her life, and it left her panting, staring up at the ceiling in serenity; at one with the world and her very own goddess, so close, so perfect and right. Elsa was awestruck by the force of their passion, amazed by her own potential.

Anna had collapsed onto her with the climax, Elsa didn't recall when her fingers left her lover's centre, and now she felt Anna's wetness dripping on her chest, blending with her own sweat that had beaded there. Anna's wings went limp, covering them like a white canopy for a few moments, showing Elsa the moonlight through the feathers; her and Anna's own secret realm of pleasure.

The goddess lifted them, then her body, her lower lips red from Elsa's attentions, and rolled off, letting Elsa raise herself onto her elbows to watch her.

An orgasmic sigh freed itself from Anna's mouth as she shivered and stretched. "Elsa, you were..." She paused to manoeuvre over her lover, looking down into Elsa's eyes, her own blue-green orbs clouded with pleasure.

Elsa anticipated her comment as much as she anticipated her touch.

"... Incredible," came the single whispered word, making Elsa's heart sing and her arms reach up in adoration to hold Anna and pull her down until their mouths met. Their tongues touched, with soft moans from both throats. Anna's taste on Elsa's tongue was replaced by her own, similar but subtly different and blending together so delightfully that Elsa knew she had found the only lover she would ever want or need; Elsa knew Anna was meant for her, and she was meant for Anna.

Elsa lost herself sharing their taste, mingling their essence and the honey of their tongues until Anna parted from her, keeping their tongues connected until the last second so Elsa could see the liquid of their passion connecting them before she licked it off her lips. Anna leaned above, strands of her red hair falling over her shoulders to stroke Elsa's skin, Elsa saw in the expression on the beautiful face above how much Anna loved her, and she couldn't help but smile; the emotions overflowed inside her.

The sight of Anna was replaced by her touch when she moved behind, draping her arm over Elsa's side and she found she was perfectly comfortable, though lying naked in the moonlight; Anna's heat was enough to stop the cold from ever bothering her. She rolled to arrange herself and fit with Anna, to meld with her body, and Anna's other arm cradled her head when she did so, softer than the pillow beneath. The sense of total togetherness was complete, Anna stroked the curves of her waist and hip and thigh, and Elsa stroked the hand that she could reach, caressing the slender fingers with her own. "Anna, I never want this to end," she said, and realised that she had just been honest about her feelings, something she had never done aloud before until tonight.

"Neither do I," Anna replied, whispering into her ear. "And it never will."

Her hand wandered up and gave Elsa's breast a gentle squeeze, rolling the nipple momentarily between her fingertips, enough to stiffen it again and make Elsa's breathing quicken. A squeak of surprised arousal escaped from within when Anna lowered her hand, feeling in her folds with her fingers and brushing against that sensitive bud of bliss. Elsa had barely come down from the heights of elation she had just shared with Anna, and her body was so sensitive, the pleasure rushed like fire, burning passion and sensation right through her; it was too much. But Anna stroked lower, calmed Elsa, seemed to know her already, to know what she needed.

Only then could Elsa feel that Anna's hot mouth had clamped onto her neck, lapping with her tongue, working magic with those lips again to make the most mundane parts of Elsa's form shiver and tingle for her. Anna's skills had no limits. She moved her fingers back and forth between Elsa's lower lips, leaving the most sensitive part until it throbbed again for her attention.

"Anna...!" Elsa tried to make her breathless cry a question, but it came out more pleading, and Anna seemed to understand.

"You're not done yet," she whispered hotly into her ear. "They come in threes." Anna licked her earlobe and took it into her mouth for a brief, sweet moment.

Elsa forgot even that with what Anna was doing between her thighs. Her fingers found that one sweet spot they had spent so much time on earlier, and now it was ready for her, she lingered there, touching lightly at first, then faster. Anna rubbed like she wanted Elsa, wanted to claim Elsa, to be part of Elsa; Elsa was already hers and her body knew it.

Still feeling the aftershocks from before, her muscles squeezed Anna's fingers when they entered her again, and Elsa's hand squeezed her other fingers while her breaths came loud and fast.

Blasts of Anna's breath caressed her skin, her lips and tongue and heat were on Elsa's neck again, sucking persistently. Anna's nipples were hard against her back, Anna's thigh wrapped around hers; it was too much...

Her insides coiled again so quickly, dragging Elsa back to rapture. She had no way to tell whether it was finishing or beginning, this endless pleasure, but it made her body dance and sing, writhing in the throes of passion. Anna moved with her until Elsa could move no more and lay, shaking and spent, or so she thought.

The heat of Anna's body left her back, and Elsa turned to her, drawn by the connection she now understood they shared. She watched Anna slowly lean down over her, letting their nipples brush together, and with that, Elsa stirred again.

They did not need to talk, Elsa placed her hands on Anna's shoulders, pulling her down to let their lips speak in the wet language of kisses and tongues.

Anna drifted lower, as if summoned, kissing between Elsa's breasts, on her stomach, her navel, and even lower through the fine golden hair on her sex. For Anna, her legs opened wide and Elsa arched her back to bring her lower lips up to Anna's, feeding herself to her lover. She could feel the air around meet her moisture, and her own juices dripping down in strange sensations she had never felt before, but they ceased when Anna brought her lips - wet from kissing - to kiss her own wetness.

Kisses quickly became licks, Anna unleashed her ardent tongue, applying herself to the pursuit of Elsa's pleasure, watching her. Waves of pleasure washed over Elsa from where those sea-green eyes stared up, and Anna reached her hands up, too, to grab and squeeze her breasts.

It did not take much more for this third, final, most magnificent climax to build within Elsa; she knew it was approaching, her body was trembling like the last leaf left on a tree before winter comes.

Anna's head of red hair moved with the ministrations of her mouth, flowing like flames, and Elsa let that fire burn her alive, set her soul alight; there was no lovelier way to burn.

Her breasts heaved, her back arched, Elsa's whole body shivered and the cries that burst from her throat held years of yearning and frustration; but all that left as the sound dissolved into euphoria.

Elsa returned to the world and felt Anna's eyes on her, opened her own to see Anna watching her, smiling. She lay there and thought of how she had shown Anna so many sides of herself, limp, lustful, hesitant, ecstatic... Yet Anna seemed to, no: Elsa  _knew_  Anna loved all of her.

"Elsa," her lover said fondly, stroking her cheek with soft fingertips.

"I want you to stay, Anna. Please never leave me." Elsa clutched her hand, desperately awaiting a reply.

Anna looked as elated as Elsa felt inside. "So you liked it?" Anna asked. Her teeth caught her bottom lip in a smile, so girlish for a goddess.

"It was perfect, I've never felt so good in my entire life!" Reaching up, Elsa guided Anna down to lie facing her. She smiled, resting her head beside Anna's, and felt the warmth of her lover's arm wrapping around her waist, enclosing her in comfort as Anna cuddled her. Elsa gave in to curiosity and let her hand wander to Anna's wing, stroking her fingers along the feathers, softer and whiter than the first flakes of winter snow.

She felt so relaxed, Elsa had never been this comfortable before, and that let her say exactly what was on her mind. "Are you the goddess of love?"

"Not  _the_  goddess," Anna replied. "I'm just her servant. But she knows I'm here, and we know you've always believed in us, Elsa."

Elsa had, and deep down in her soul, she had always trusted that the Divines would lead her to her destiny, and the fact that her destiny was a goddess thrilled her beyond words. "I want to see you fly," she said, knowing that sight would convey in some way the joy she felt inside.

"You can fly with, too, when you trust me." Elsa stared speechless into her eyes, noticing every nuance of colour and expression in them. Soon they moved lower, still admiring Elsa's form even after she had touched it all over and given it so much pleasure.

Anna's hand was on Elsa's hip, rubbing patterns there. Her body ached with a deep, sweet burn, her skin overly-sensitive when Anna caressed her.

"I'm so proud of myself," Anna commented, grinning. "That I've made you this happy."

Sleep was creeping up on Elsa in her bliss, making her eyelids heavy, threatening to close them and stop her from staring at Anna. She fought it back to reply. "You should be proud, Anna. I never even dreamed all this was possible. This has been the best night of my life, and I don't want it to end..."

A yawn of pure, contented exhaustion forced her mouth open and her eyes shut. When Elsa lifted her lids again, she saw that Anna had snuggled into her, resting her head on Elsa's shoulder with her eyes closed; the temperature of her skin blended perfectly with her own, and there was just something about the feel of their bare flesh together that gave her a sense of indescribable peacefulness.

Anna's hand rested at her breast, not squeezing, not fondling, but laid there for comfort and to comfort Elsa with its presence, which it undoubtedly did.

"I hope you're not a dream," she said, and the murmur of her own drowsy voice was the last thing Elsa heard that night.

The morning light made her squint even before she opened her eyes, and when Elsa did, the sun's brightness was almost blinding. She raised her hand to shield them, then realised she was alone. There was no warm head of soft red hair resting against her, and Elsa's heart sank.

Still, she felt strangely refreshed, despite the fact that she did not remember doing much sleeping, if all her memories were not dreams... Elsa raised herself, stretching each limb in turn and aware that she ached in places she didn't know existed, deep inside her. So that was some proof it had all been real...

Yet a doubt within reminded Elsa that sorting through the guild archives at work often made her ache.

But not like this... And she was still naked, her pale skin tinted pink in the heat from the morning sun.

The doubting part of her mind told Elsa that this fact didn't prove anything either; she often undressed in her sleep from heat at night...

Elsa sighed. She decided that the truth of last night would reveal itself all in good time, and left her bed.

Judging from the sun, she was on time. Glad she hadn't overslept, Elsa shrugged on a robe, tied the sash loosely around her waist and walked into the kitchen.

She was greeted by a smell, and then a sight, that made her mouth water. Anna - her goddess from last night, the most beautiful being she had ever seen and was overjoyed to see again - stood naked by the stove, making breakfast.

Her ginger hair looked brighter in the light from the window, flowing in tantalisingly messy waves around her wings to her waist. With a hand on one tilted hip and a frying pan in the other, she was the picture of sophisticated grace... Until she flipped the pancake she was cooking and it flopped to the floor.

Anna made an adorable noise of frustration, then spotted Elsa out of the corner of her eye. "You didn't see that," she said. "Luckily I already made enough for us."

And indeed she had, a huge pile of pancakes waited for them on the table, with two places set opposite each other; an image of the perfect breakfast.

Elsa could feel herself smiling as so many happy emotions swirled inside. She watched Anna throw the pancake away, honoured that Anna already knew her way around the kitchen, but from the mess in the rest of the room, Elsa judged she had discovered it by trial and error.

Anna sighed, and turned towards Elsa with a beaming smile. "Good morning!"

Shock stirred in Elsa now they were making eye contact, causing her heart to thump inside her chest. "You're still here?"

"Of course I am!" Anna replied, cheerily. "I  _told_  you it wasn't a dream, Elsa; you need to learn some trust!"

She took both of Elsa's hands in hers, the simple touch helping Elsa gradually get used to her naked form and her beautiful, loving presence.

"Anna..." Her name alone was beginning to give Elsa as much pleasure as Anna's body, but something nagged at her, a thought that arose not long ago, but hadn't left her since. "Have you done... this for many people before me?"

"No." Her reply and Elsa's relief were instantaneous. "You're the only one! I brought myself into this world just for you, Elsa; I'm all yours."

A few moments filled with love went by, Elsa wanted to kiss her, she could tell Anna wanted the same, but those stunning eyes and hands left hers to gesture towards the table.

"This breakfast is yours, too! We don't want it to get cold!"

Following Anna's enthusiasm, Elsa sat facing her and ate the food that had been cooked for her with love. She felt that love and a rush of pride in the first bite, which filled Elsa's heart as much as her stomach.

"I haven't had such a good breakfast in... forever!" Elsa sighed when she had finished. Anna was still eating, with mouth full, but she smiled back.

_This must be what it's like to have a wife..._  Elsa thought to herself. Most of her acquaintances her own age were married, since at twenty-one they could legally control their own lives, and Elsa had always been secretly jealous of those who had someone to share their hearts and homes. But that jealousy had disappeared, none of them had Anna.

Their naked legs did not touch, but were close enough under the table for Elsa to sense the heat of Anna's skin... It made her want to climb down to the floor, take Anna's leg in her hands, caress her lips and fingertips all the way up to the top and truly learn her taste, her scent...

To distract herself from such thoughts - she knew if she let herself get lost in Anna now, there was no way she'd make it to work today, or ever again - Elsa tidied away her things. Just for a second, when she had reached the other side of the room, her eyes glanced back and that was enough to make Elsa feel it, that lust.

Elsa stared at the mouth that had licked and sucked at her last night, that would do so again if she asked its beautiful owner... Anna looked back, smiling as she swallowed her final mouthful. And Elsa had to touch her.

She approached, summoned by that green-blue gaze, and thoughts of love replaced her passion. Elsa displaced it into a tender touch, standing behind Anna and smoothing the red tresses to one side so she could touch the freckles on her shoulder.

The skin was warm and soft on Elsa's fingertips, and it inspired in her a desire, not the all consuming passion of lust, just a longing to connect with someone she found lovely and special, to show her appreciation and to do something she had never done before.

Elsa leaned into her lover, breathing the rich, sweet scent of her red hair, and pressed her lips to the nape of Anna's neck; because she wanted to, because she could. She only let the kiss last for a moment, but that moment was enough. Leaving her hand there on those precious freckles, Elsa watched Anna turn round to meet her eyes. "Thank you," said Elsa, suiting words to her action, trying to express gratitude for everything Anna had done in those two simple syllables, yet she had not finished. "I have another question: how do I know I'm not insane? This is all... too perfect to be real."

Anna gave her a smile of sweet amusement and patted her hand. "You're not insane, Elsa! I'll come and visit you at work today so you can see I'm just as real as you, and everybody else." She stood, letting Elsa's hand return to her side, and began to clear the rest of the table before turning her mesmerising eyes back again. "Now go and get ready or you'll be late!"

Elsa smiled, nodded, knowing she was right, but lingered, walking away as slowly as she could to stay in Anna's presence, watching her and the way she moved, nude and beautiful, until she could delay no longer.

The mirror revealed a difference when Elsa examined herself, something she couldn't quite pinpoint... Was is something about her eyes? She found the most obvious difference when she spotted the large lovebite on her neck, and Elsa blushed when she saw it. At least that helped her decide what to wear, and once she had fastened it all the way to the top, the high-collared dress she had chosen covered most of the mark, so Elsa expected no one would notice.

Her hair was tangled indeed, but Elsa quickly combed it smooth and twisted the light blonde tresses into a chignon. With that, Elsa was ready and looked the same as ever, she would never have guessed the respectable woman she saw in the mirror had shared a night of hot passion with a goddess.

And that goddess waited for her by the door before she left.

Anna leaned up almost on tiptoe to reach Elsa's lips with her own and the goodbye kiss she gave was quick, sweet and unmistakably loving. The warmth of her naked back lingered on Elsa's fingers as she went out of the door, and remained there for the rest of the day.

Elsa remembered to stop at the temple on the way, and lit a candle to the Lady of Love, said a prayer of thanks. Even if this was a dream or madness, it was a good madness, and Elsa was so grateful to have experienced it. She only spent a quick moment of devotion, but knew the Divines appreciated even that. And it struck Elsa just how lucky she was; a goddess loved her! She had never asked, never even wished for something like this, yet she had been rewarded, and Elsa was so thankful.

She stepped through the doors of the guildhall and was greeted by Kristoff, one of the ice harvesters she sometimes spoke to.

"You look different," he remarked, bluntly. "Do anything special last night?"

"Not particularly," Elsa replied at once, and felt a flush creep up her neck.

Kristoff gave her a questioning look and narrowed his eyes; he didn't seem to believe her, but Elsa left before he could continue, and before she could let out the swirling storm of joy inside, telling truthful tales of a goddess and hot, sweet passion. For some reason, she did not want anyone to know about Anna just yet, and kept herself from saying or doing anything that would give away her secrets of last night, and Elsa wasn't the sort of woman to kiss and tell.

As she returned to the routine of her work, copying up records and organising files, Elsa realised that part of her fears about all of this related to the issues she had with her own attraction to other women. Even though no one deemed such love a problem in her land, Elsa didn't like to be different, never had, ever since she was young. That was the real reason why she had not let herself know love, and had not let anyone try to love her, either. Until now.

And Anna was just what she needed, she helped Elsa let that part of herself be free to live and love, she was someone with whom Elsa could share all her thoughts, share caresses, kisses, warm embraces...

Elsa had liked plenty of women before, but never this much; what was it about Anna that made her heart and soul soar and sing? She couldn't decide between her hair, her eyes, her skin, voice, lips, hands... Because it was Anna's very being that Elsa loved and had loved all along.

And she had known her for mere hours. Having such a connection already was unutterably wonderful, and Elsa hoped it was not all in her mind, yet there was still no proof of her sanity.

The archives felt different, though they looked the same as ever; it was Elsa who had changed. There was a freedom in the way she moved, and whenever Elsa saw or touched a part of herself - her hand, her fingers, the inside of her wrist - she remembered Anna and her lips there last night... Thus distracted, time flew by with wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love.

Elsa stood on a ladder, sorting the highest shelves when there was a knock on the open door and she saw Kristoff wander in. He looked up at her like he had plucked out the heart of her mystery, but Elsa knew it was probably just her paranoia, though she still froze when he began to speak.

"There's someone here to see you, Elsa."

Flustered, she found her words. "All right, I'm just coming!" She gripped the ladder tightly while she climbed down, hoping against hope that her visitor was the one she wished it would be, the only one she wanted to see in all the world. Elsa brushed herself off when she reached the floor and flinched when Kristoff's next comment seemed to confirm her hopes.

"You have great taste," he said, with a wink.

Elsa's face blushed bright red and she did not waste another thought or moment on Kristoff before she hurried away, glad he didn't follow. Her heart was pounding, leading her to Anna,  _Anna_ , here in her workplace. It seemed too good to be true, like all of this, but when Elsa saw her standing in front of her, the jolt in her chest gave her proof of how real it was, and she was overjoyed. Elsa did not know how radiant the smile she wore looked at that moment.

Anna, however, wore one of Elsa's own dresses; the best one she owned, light blue, sleek and glittering, and over that she had draped a dark blue cloak to cover and conceal her wings. It looked good on her, so good than not enough words existed to describe it. The slit in the dress' side showed her perfect legs and the shoes she wore were Elsa's too, which she realised meant Anna wore the same size as herself; she was perfect in every way.

Elsa liked the idea of Anna going through her clothes, touching every item she owned, her underwear, too... But she was getting to know Anna... Elsa guessed she wasn't wearing underwear and decided to make a point of finding out later.

"Anna! You look beautiful!" she exclaimed, knowing she was stating the obvious. And Anna was more than just beautiful... She raised her eyes to Anna's freckled cleavage, somehow more erotic to Elsa at that moment now it was only just a glimpse, especially since she knew what softness was underneath the fabric. She raised them even more and felt a barely-concealable desire to leave a mark on Anna's neck to match her own... And even though they were not standing close, Elsa could see soft wisps of ginger hair against her neck that were too short to arrange into the exquisite crown braid she had styled it in; she wondered how Anna had managed to achieve such a skilful style without assistance. All these thoughts left Elsa's mind when she looked into Anna's eyes, seeing warmth and love there, all for her.

"Thanks. I made you lunch," Anna said and took a step forward, holding out the bag she carried.

Elsa took it and looked inside, seeing that Anna had made a sandwich for her, full of all her favourite fillings; there was a chocolate bar in there, too; her favourite dessert. She raised her eyes back to her new favourite sight, but Anna looked troubled, she bit her lip, fiddling with her fingers before she spoke.

"If you don't like it, I'll finish it." Her goddess doubted herself...

"I'm sure I'll like it, Anna!" Elsa assured her, and Anna's face lit up. "No one's ever made me lunch before," Elsa continued. "Is it part of your 'True Love' thing?"

"You really don't know what love is!" she replied, smiling with fondness in her eyes. "But you'll learn." Anna placed a hand on Elsa's arm and she could feel the warmth flowing all the way to her heart.

"Well, I have the best teacher," Elsa said and hugged her, sighing when Anna's arms wrapped around her shoulders, relaxing into the soft press of her body. It felt so good to hold her and be held, Elsa would have gladly stayed like that so they could melt in each other's arms forever, but Anna let her go.

She kissed Elsa's cheek, sharing in the quick press of her lips a different kind of love: pure affection, unconditional and all-pervading.

Elsa grinned with the confidence it gave and risked another kiss while they were still undisturbed. She leaned in, her lips parted, but she didn't move any further; Elsa wanted Anna to come to her.

And she did, with warm, wet lips that opened for Elsa and accepted her tongue to caress her own.

Elsa never thought she could be so happy and knew in that kiss that there would be no turning back; Anna was her future; her real, magical, beautiful future. But their kiss would have to continue in that future. Elsa broke away, slowly and reluctantly, and said, in unspoken words, that she had to return to work.

Their hands lingered, reaching for each other as Anna backed away towards the door.

"I'll wait for you at home," Anna said, and Elsa could see in her eyes the same sadness that squeezed her own heart. The rush of feelings when she turned away came out of Elsa's mouth in words that Anna looked surprised to hear.

"Anna, I love you!"

They shocked Elsa, too, but she meant every one of them. Anna's smile was so wide Elsa could do nothing but smile herself.

"And I love you, Elsa," she said. "Don't keep me waiting too long."

Elsa wouldn't. She couldn't wait herself to learn all the ways of True Love with Anna and discover what other magic she would bring into her life. Elsa felt free and whole and beautiful, feelings that would never fade, and she looked forward to spending forever with Anna; from eve to morn each day, and every moment she could spare, sharing that love with her. Anna was true to her word, she stayed with Elsa forever, in that life and beyond, blissful, blessed and beautiful in their bond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> According to Google, the title translates as "in love (or sex) there is truth." It's also the title of a very good song by HIM.


	17. Hippolyta

The loud shout rose high above waves and wind to reach Anna's ears.

"Sail!"

She ran to the prow of the ship, the rest of her friends behind, to take the spyglass Olaf offered her.

"It's straight ahead," he said. "And coming towards us!"

Anna found the boat where he had told her and focused the lens to see it clearly. "It's from Arendelle!"

At the top of the mast flew a standard Anna knew, though this was the first time she had seen it with her eyes: a background half of purple, half of green, with the profile of a beautiful woman, gold in the centre; the likeness of the Queen.

The other vessel came closer, quick against the wind, and soon Anna could see the standard with her eyes alone; she passed the telescope to Kristoff at her side, and studied the approaching ship.

It was small and unremarkable compared to their own. Above Anna's head, the sail of her ship spread wider than a dragon's wings and in front stood a carved figurehead, an ornate swan leading their way. It was rightly too large a ship for just four people; Anna and her three friends had a whole cabin each, with room to spare. They should have been sailing in one the size of the other boat, small and swift with no such splendour. Yet Anna wondered at their business, worrying what she and the others should be prepared for.

"There's the city, on the horizon," Kristoff called, and Anna could see it, too; a faint grey shape on the distant shore.

Kristoff narrowed his eyes after giving the spyglass to Sven. "I hope they're friendly..."

He had voiced what Anna feared, but she dismissed it, as she had in her own mind. "The boat's not big enough to attack us, and there are too few of them on there." She looked again now they were closer and counted five armoured figures; Anna and the others could take them on if the worst came to the worst...

"Yeah, I bet they're the nicest, gentlest, warmest people ever," said Olaf, being his usual optimistic self. "They're just being cautious, that's all."

"I hope so." Anna sighed. "Because I've got to get them on my side if I'm going to do what I came here for..."

"Well, you can't fight the whole Arendelle army by yourself, Anna. We've got your back." Kristoff's hand was warm on her arm, and Anna was glad of the reassuring touch. She was about to tell him she didn't want any of them to put themselves in danger - this whole mission was her own and it was up to  _her_  to complete it - but Sven cut in before she could.

"They're definitely all women on there. So the rumours are true!"

Anna watched Kristoff snatch the spyglass back to take another look. "You're right!" he said, seeming more enthusiastic now.

Arendelle's fame was spread around the world, all had heard of the country inhabited only by women, and its unique society inspired countless myths about the place, which Anna eagerly awaited to confirm as truth or lies.

Most would imagine a land of women to be peaceful, but everyone knew the inhabitants of Arendelle were quite the opposite. They lived as a sisterhood of warriors, dedicated to defending their borders, their way of life and the secrets within their city. Renowned as unequalled fighters, other countries did their best to get the women of Arendelle as their allies in combat and request their assistance in war; to have them on your side in battle effectively decided the outcome in your favour.

Arendelle's warriors possessed a strength known in no other country and from that strength they earned fame and fortune for their kinswomen bringing back payments for their fighting service. Yet they were selective, only supporting others' causes in rare cases, and strictly to their own conditions, while they guarded their borders fiercely.

For many, the idea of a land of women was paradise, and Anna most definitely concurred. With no men around, she guessed Arendelle would be a great deal quieter, cleaner and better-smelling than most places. Anna smiled to herself as she thought of this; she liked men well enough but for her, nothing beat the company of women. And she had always admired everything she heard of Arendelle's women, especially; they were strong and proud, like Anna herself. To be here now, with a chance to see everything she'd heard of - the famous temple, the barracks and others she had no doubt she would discover - gave Anna flutters of anticipation in her stomach.

Blended with it was the rush she always felt when visiting new lands. This was the furthest north Anna had ever been, and the air felt clearer here, mild as she breathed it in, imagining it passing over mountains and fjords, through the fragrant streets of Arendelle, carrying scents of perfume from women and incense from temples before reaching her nose.

The north was a land of long, cruel winters, though summer reigned over it now; in the clear, blue sky the sun shone down, its rays glinting on the water all around, the armour of the women coming closer and on the roofs and windows of the distant city emerging from the horizon every moment, like a vision of utopia.

Neither Anna nor anyone she knew had heard definite facts about the city itself, just whispers of wonders, some that sounded too fantastic to be true. But there was one wonder Anna counted on being real. The Queen of Arendelle was said to own a girdle, given to her by her father - the god of war himself - for her superiority as a warrior. Anna didn't know what powers it possessed; whether it gave the wearer beauty, strength or invincibility did not matter, she only knew the King of the Southern Isles had ordered her to take it by any means possible and bring it back as a gift for his own daughter, and that was what Anna intended to do. She hoped the powers, or just the esteem of owning something possessed by both a demigoddess and a warrior queen - for that was who Queen Elsa was - would make the Princess happy, or at least give her some comfort...

Remembering her reasons for journeying here dulled the joy Anna felt at the sight of the city, since she was not a free woman coming to Arendelle simply for pleasure, and that fact angered her. She tried to forget again that she had been sent from her home in the Southern Isles to perform a task for the King, all in repentance for killing the Crown Prince, his only son.

That was the only event in her life Anna wanted to forget. She regretted that death more than anything, even though she had done it in self-defence and by accident. And... she told herself not to think ill of the dead, but Hans had not been a good person. His death happened too quickly in her memories, but it had happened even quicker in reality: one moment Hans' hand was around her throat, gripping tight, the next, hers had clenched into a fist and hit him so hard he seemed to fly back before he lay limp on the ground and never got up again.

Anna had wounded people before in play or training, but that was the first time she had ever killed. And it shook her deeply. So much that Anna vowed to try and put it right. She was young, in her eighteenth year, and the best way had seemed to be to enter the King's service, swearing to obey him without question until he deemed the hurt she caused him healed. In her youth and optimism, Anna thought it would be simple, but now she was attempting the first task the King had set and it seemed too tough before it had even begun.

The motive was simple, though trivial: the King wanted a Divine artefact and he had a half-Divine servant to fetch it, everything was for power. Power had caused so much trouble for Anna, first her own barely-understood demigoddess strength, and now the oath she had sworn by her own father, the Chief of the Gods, binding her to serve the King until she earned her freedom. Fate plays strange tricks on all and Anna recalled how she had always wanted to be treated like a mortal, had wanted others to ignore her half-Divinity, and now, in a way, that had been granted...

At least she had encountered no trouble travelling from the Southern Isles to Arendelle so far; the two nations shared turbulent relations in the past, fighting wars both against each other and side by side as allies, though they had known peace for the past few centuries and Anna was glad to have that in her favour.

Another thing that would assist her was the fact that she and the Queen were related, on their Divine side. This made Anna even more excited about meeting her; she had never seen another demigoddess before, but how would she compare? Would Queen Elsa think her a monster for murdering a mortal with her bare hands? Or would she think her weak for entering someone's service out of guilt for simply killing?

Anna took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the fresh sea air, and thought of what the Queen would see when they met, and how she must seem to the Arendelle soldiers now drawing level with her ship. She wore slender leathern breeches, contrasted with a feminine, low-cut tunic in pale green. Her red hair had been delicately arranged into a crown braid and a sword hung at her side from the belt at her hips. All in all, Anna hoped they would see a strong woman, with a good heart and fair of face. And she was ready to show that face to these warriors of Arendelle.  _I was born ready_ , Anna told herself, and found as always that those words worked, giving her the confidence she needed.

Olaf and Sven had slowed the ship, and the other boat now floated close beside, Anna strode to the gunwale to speak with the women, gathering a rope ladder in case they wished to talk face to face rather than across the water.

The women of Arendelle looked up at her. Toned, tanned and armoured they were, with an emblem on their cloaks, the golden crocus of their country. All wore helmets but one, a brunette who smiled at Anna with full lips and large brown eyes. "Greetings!" she called. "May we come aboard?"

Anna smiled back and threw down the end of the rope ladder. "Of course!"

The women climbed up, every movement dignified, until four of them stood with Anna on the deck; one stayed behind to tend the boat.

"Thank you," the brunette said, when they were all aboard. "As you must know, you've reached Arendelle's borders. What business do you seek in our land?"

"We've come from the Southern Isles to visit your city," Anna began. "My friends and I wish to meet Queen Elsa. Actually..." She was usually reluctant to use her status as a demigoddess to her own advantage, but now that seemed to be the best option. "My name's Anna, and she and I are related, on her father's side." She saw the woman's expression change when she realised what that meant, and the brunette looked at Anna anew while she continued. "I was hoping to meet my kinswoman and learn the ways of your people." Anna silently applauded herself for the lie.  _Though it's technically not a lie_ , her conscience told her,  _I just didn't mention the whole truth..._

"You can enter our country, Anna, and you'll be most welcome," the other woman said. "But not your friends. We allow no men within our borders."

"I thought that might be the case," said Anna, and watched Kristoff's face fall in slight disappointment while Sven patted his back.

"However..." The brunette gave the men a friendly smile. "To show there are no hard feelings between us, you men may leave in our boat, with the Queen's blessing and a purse of gold, and sail to the nearest port in the neighbouring kingdom." She turned back to Anna. "The rest of us will sail with you to the city's harbour in this ship."

It seemed to Anna that these women had clearly encountered many situations like this before, and - though her friends were a little reluctant - they all agreed that it was for the best. Kristoff, Olaf and Sven gathered their possessions and prepared to take their leave of Anna.

Olaf was the final one to whom Anna said farewell. "Have a great time, Anna!" He hugged her; the warmth of their friendship surrounding her and reminding her how much she would miss them all. "Good luck! And you know where to find us when you're done," he said, and Anna knew he was right.

They got into the envoy's boat with the remaining soldier and sailed away while the women from Arendelle took control of Anna's ship, swiftly speeding it towards the city's dock. She felt flutters of excitement and nervousness in her stomach at being alone with strangers, and it sunk in for Anna that her quest had really started now.

As if sensing her feelings, the brunette came over to speak with Anna again. "My name's Belle," she said, offering her hand for Anna to shake, which she did without a moment's hesitation. "It's an honour to meet you, Anna."

Anna grinned, glad to have found someone to assist her; she hoped that everyone in Arendelle was as friendly as Belle. Her heart warmed, she strolled to the prow of the ship again, watching it glide through the waves, closer and closer to the city she sought.

Her first real sight of Arendelle took her breath away and make Anna gasp aloud. There were so many beautiful things for her to feast her eyes on; buildings, plant and flower formations, fountains...

"It's magnificent, isn't it?" Belle asked, coming to stand beside her.

"I've never seen anywhere like it!" The buildings were of stone, but delicately structured with steepled roofs, especially the royal castle with its towers and spires.

Anna noted there were not many boats moored in the harbour, except for the war galleys both stationed in and patrolling the waters. These women really were concerned about their borders...

After guiding the ship smoothly into the docks, Anna and the four women of Arendelle secured the boat. When she stood on dry land for the first time in over a week, Anna sighed, thankful and glad that everything had gone so well only this far into her quest, she now had high hopes that she might just be able to succeed.

"Welcome to Arendelle, Anna!" came Belle's voice beside her. "Queen Elsa will want to meet you when she learns her kinswoman is in the city. Her Majesty is busy at this time of day but while you wait I'd be happy to show you around."

Of course, Anna accepted the chance to see this city of wonders, with the knowledge that she was one of few outsiders privileged to have such an invitation.

Their first stop was not far away, right opposite the harbour, and was one of the grand buildings Anna had seen from the ship, which Belle announced to be a temple. Rumours had carried across many countries of this place of worship's splendour, and now she could see they were right; up close, it was outstanding.

"This is the most important building in Arendelle," Belle explained to Anna. "We honour the Divines above everything. There are other temples throughout the city, but this is the largest and the oldest."

When they entered, Anna could see that was no exaggeration. She and Belle stood in an atrium so huge it almost made her forget she was inside, the sky shown through the clear glass of the ceiling high above only strengthened the effect of being right under the gaze of the gods and goddesses.

Anna was left breathless by the sight, then found a few inadequate words to describe her feelings. "It's the most amazing temple I've ever seen!"

The atrium led to different wings filled with statues of goddesses, but not just them, there were sacred statues of mortal women, too; maidens, mothers and crones, each beautiful in her own way.

Anna walked down one of the wings, listening to her companion enlighten her about the temple. "It's separated into areas dedicated to the goddesses of war, love and wisdom, but the whole temple is sacred to femininity in all its forms. There is only one area devoted to a god, and that is the god of war, Queen Elsa's father, who has guided us through many battles."

There were no male statues where they stood, and Anna guessed this was the love goddess' section. The air smelled of an exotic perfume, and the floor beneath her feet displayed a mosaic of two women entwining in love. Anna stepped aside and saw all the detail the artist had depicted there... so vivid and unexpected that it made heat blossom in Anna's cheeks. She cleared her throat. "Well, I'd better pay my respects while I'm here," Anna said, and headed towards the nearest shrine to both distract herself from the sight of the mosaic and show homage to her heavenly family. Bowing down before the shrine to the goddess of love, Anna felt her Divine presence strongly in this land, and with it a rush of pride at being a woman and allowed to see Arendelle's secrets.

The temple definitely attracted a Divine attendance, as a demigoddess, Anna could sense it. Not all places of worship had it, but this one did unquestionably, swirling through the shrines and statues and all around her own form, too.

Once Anna was ready to leave, Belle announced she would take her to the training grounds next; another famous site of which Anna had heard tell from countless reports of this secluded land. And yet another rumour proved itself to be true as she followed her guide through the city streets.

"You know, Arendelle's famous all over the world for being the only country without men, but somehow I never really believed it was possible," Anna commented. Any doubt she had was proven wrong by the sight of the citizens all around them. Every single one of them was female, even the children; in front of Belle and Anna walked two women holding a little girl by the hands between them, lifting her up and making her laughter ring out.

"It isn't easy keeping things this way," Belle told her. "Border security is essential, and a great deal of our army's strength is spent ensuring no men enter. If discussions ever have to take place, our ambassadors meet on the other party's territory."

"This may seem like a stupid question," Anna began, a little self-consciously. "But where do the children come from?"

"It's not a stupid question," Belle said, kindly. "But the answer's quite simple. Every year there's a time when women can visit the neighbouring countries to do their duty and help continue our society, then return to Arendelle. All the girl children from these unions are raised here, but boys are sent to live with their fathers."

"It all sounds kind of... restrictive." Anna wondered how she would have coped growing up in a country with such control.

"Nobody is kept here against her will. All women are free to leave whenever they want. I've left on many occasions and travelled all over the world, but I found myself longing for home every time, and most of my friends say the same. Women from other lands are welcome to join us and live here, too."

So far, this lifestyle did not tempt Anna, but it didn't look bad, not bad at all... And Anna knew there was still lots more to learn. "You know so much!" she said to Belle. "Why did you want to learn all these facts about your country?"

"Well, it's all common knowledge here," she replied. "It's my history, my heritage and our society is unique and fascinating, both to study and live in. Ah, there are the barracks, another of our most important places!"

They had just turned a corner where the city's streets receded and were replaced by training grounds surrounding an enormous yet elegant barracks building.

"Everyone is required to undertake training from age eleven to eighteen, but most continue when they've finished and come back to practise every day," Belle informed her while they walked down the road cutting through the grounds leading to the grand structure.

On either side of the path Anna could see sections of the Arendelle army marching, rehearsing military formations. Clad all in armour from head to foot, the soldiers were an impressive sight, even if they were still in training, and it gladdened Anna's heart to see them comfortable as both warriors and women; a beautiful band of sisters who put the mostly male army of her own country to shame.

She and Belle came to the courtyard and were greeted by the sound of clashing swords. A crowd was gathered around two warriors engaged in combat, so intense that even just watching made Anna's blood sing as the swords kissed and sprang apart and kissed again. Anna loved swordplay and could wield a blade well enough to defend herself, but wished she had these women's skill.

Despite being fully-armoured, they both moved quickly and nimbly as if they were wearing nothing at all, dodging, leaping and rolling to avoid attacks. Anna admired the better warrior who seemed to be winning, her long light-blonde braid hung from under her helm and swayed to the rhythm of her strikes. She knocked the sword away from her dark-braided opponent with a shrill ring of the metal, finishing their fight, to a thunder of applause.

Belle led Anna further into the building before she could see the woman reveal her face. "The majority of our citizens were born here like me," she said. "But I want you to meet a friend of mine who chose to live here." She waved to a girl with a mane of wild red hair standing by an archery range and walked towards her, motioning for Anna to follow. "This is Merida, the best archer in the land!"

"That's right!" the redhead said, her accent showing she had come from far away indeed. "My homeland didn't want to let a woman train and fight for herself, so I left to find my freedom. Fate led me here, and I haven't left Arendelle since." She smiled and went back to pick up her bow, drawing it taut with the full strength of her torso, then let the arrow fly, right into the centre of the target.

Her speech and skills inspired Anna as she and Belle walked out again, winding through the still-crowded courtyard. "This is all so amazing! I've never seen training like that before, and actually, I've never really trained myself," Anna admitted. "I can fight, but I sort of just learned as I went along; maybe while I'm here I can hone my skills properly." She left unsaid the hope that with some training she might come to control and understand the Divine strength that was in her. Maybe channelling it through a sword would make it more predictable than the raw force of her fists, maybe one day she would have such skill and control as that blonde warrior...

"If you want to stay and train with us, you'll have to discuss it with the Queen," Belle replied. "You can ask her when we arrive at the castle, but in the meantime, there a few more sights I can show you in the way."

The late afternoon sun imbued the stone streets with an orange glow and a haze of warmth, seeming like some sort of fantasy, but it was real. She strolled by Belle's side and spoke with her of all the things she had ever wondered about Arendelle, finding truth in some rumours and lies in others, all the while seeing the everyday lives of the women in this famed city and how  _normal_  they seemed to be.

Though some things Anna found not quite so normal; in the summer heat, nudity was more casual and Anna saw many topless women walking by, even some bathing naked in the fountains to cool down. She tried not to stare but all the women were so  _beautiful_ ; it was something of a culture shock for Anna, and she liked it.

Belle began heading towards the castle, which was visible now they were so close. "The Queen will be on her way back now, too, and we should be just in time to meet her. I know she'll be glad to speak with you right away."

Anna's steps were lighter after her words, and they walked over the causeway to the castle; she could finally do what she had been waiting for and meet the Queen of Arendelle. The two women passed through the open gates into the courtyard, between two fountains, flowing and sparkling, creating a shimmering mist of droplets through which Anna saw the castle itself for the first time and thought the women who lived here lucky beyond words to have such a beautiful home. They entered through the heavy wooden doors of the building, Anna following Belle - who clearly knew the way well - through the high-ceilinged halls, elegant and echoing with their footsteps, until they came to the throne room. The guards deemed neither a threat and let the two of them inside.

A group of women was assembled there, one seated and the others standing; Anna knew the time had come, she bit her lip and ignored her heart pounding at her ribs. Belle went ahead, giving her some slight relief, yet Anna still felt the other women's eyes on her, a stranger in their land.

"Your Majesty, I present Anna of the Southern Isles," Belle announced, and stood aside to let Anna and the Queen see each other.

She almost gasped when she beheld the ruler of Arendelle, famous throughout the world, sitting there in front of her, but the sensation of her stomach doing somersaults stopped her, along with the heat that engulfed her body from her cheeks to her fingertips; Anna knew she was blushing and hoped it would fade, first impressions mattered so much and she didn't want Elsa to think she was some tongue-tied little girl.

A lightning-quick glance at the other women proved they were beautiful, too, but Elsa was the Queen of Queens, the most beautiful of all women not only here but in the entire world, Anna was sure of it. Her eyes returned to Elsa, and her first reaction was to ask herself  _why_. Why did the Queen's presence affect her so strongly? Yes, Elsa was stunning, sitting in all her beauty and all her power on a throne of dark, ancient wood, the throne of her foremothers, the seat of Queens since time immemorial. But Anna had never felt anything like this, beauty had never done such things to her body before...  _Because I've never seen such beauty as hers..._  She internally answered her own question and took all of that in for just a second until she remembered she hadn't even spoken yet. "Queen Elsa," Anna said, with as much dignity as she could muster, and bowed low, realising too late that by doing so she had just shown Elsa most of her breasts over the top of her low-cut tunic. Anna raised herself immediately and... Wait, was she...? Was the Queen looking at her cleavage? Anna couldn't tell, too quickly her own eyes were lured by the rest of the other woman's form.

Elsa's lips were curved in a fond smile and oh so red, Anna lingered on them until her eyes wandered further down. The shape of Elsa's own full breasts was not disguised by the girdle she wore. It encased her torso like a bodice, only many times more ornate than any Anna had ever seen or worn; silvery blue and sparkling, it seemed to be formed from starlight itself... The reason for Anna's journey, the garment she must somehow get the Queen to part with... She let her eyes linger on the girdle confining Elsa's curves, it most definitely had an aura of the celestial, as did the woman who owned it.

The tip of her braid brushed her slim waist. Draped over her shoulder and the lightest shade of blonde, Elsa's hair was so light and unique that Anna knew she had seen it before... In the barracks a couple of hours ago... It was her, the swordswoman Anna had watched win her duel with such skill. And with the same graceful movements of her body, now unhidden by armour, the warrior Queen left her throne and approached Anna, coming closer and speaking, too! Anna forced her eyes away from her swaying hips to pay attention.

"You don't need to bow," Elsa said, her voice low and gentle. "I've heard about you, tales have crossed even Arendelle's borders of another demigoddess in this world. I'm honoured to meet you at last, Anna."

"Y-yeah..." Anna thought her own voice sounded high and girlish compared to those melodious tones, though such thoughts left her when she gazed into the bluest eyes she had ever seen. They were glacial blue; Anna had never seen a glacier, but she knew they were beautiful, powerful and mysterious, and that was what she felt in Elsa's eyes. Overwhelmed momentarily, Anna left them to look at the pale hand she offered, then glanced up again while she took it to see Elsa looking right at her while her hand enclosed Anna's and squeezed.

Elsa's hand was soft, but cold, like freshly fallen snow.  _Well, you know what they say: cold hands, warm heart!_  Anna thought to herself.  _Wait, what?!_ Anna let it go, and tore her gaze away, not entirely sure how long she had been holding the other woman's hand and staring into her eyes.  _You shouldn't be thinking like that about someone you just met!_  Anna chastised herself.  _This is getting weird already..._

But Elsa's slender, yet muscled arms drew her attention next. They were so white, and the kind of arms that made Anna wonder what it would be like to be inside the circle of her embrace, to feel those muscles tighten and press against her, what it would be like to be that close... And it wouldn't take much to find out right now, they were standing mere inches apart...  _You only just met her!_  Anna tried to stop her thoughts by replying to Elsa's kind words that had been left neglected for the past few moments.

"The honour is mine, Your Majesty."

Elsa's smile reached her eyes, warm and friendly. "There's no need for formalities, we're family! You're welcome to stay as long as you want and see the ways of our sisterhood here in Arendelle."

Anna knew her quest would be difficult if her thoughts kept racing like this whenever she was in Elsa's presence.

"I hope they please you," the Queen continued. "And if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

Their eyes hadn't parted, giving Anna the chance to learn every subtle shift in the shades that Elsa's blue orbs held, so much that she began to get lost in them and had to speak to pull her mind away. "Thank you," she said, whether for her hospitality or simply for giving her the privilege of seeing her beauty, Anna didn't know.

And Anna didn't care that they were bound by blood and separated by status, she wanted Elsa. Her body knew it and now her mind acknowledged it, too. And the desire was mutual; Elsa's want was so strong Anna could sense it, see it in the way she wet her lips and looked at her with those heavy-lidded eyes.  _If we're ever alone together, she'll try to seduce me_. Whether that thought was a hope or a premonition, Anna could not tell, and she allowed herself to dwell on it.

But they were not alone. Others were with them, Elsa's sisters in arms, Belle and two women Anna did not know, who she guessed must have noticed the passion in their exchange.

Elsa broke their gaze to introduce them as her friends and advisors. Anna listened politely, learning their names. Marisol was tall and tanned, with her hair in a dark braid so long it swept the backs of her knees. Rapunzel had hair the same length but of gold, her green eyes and sun-kissed skin reminded Anna of the summer's day outside. Neither seemed suspicious, but as open and friendly as their Queen.

The women of Arendelle talked between themselves for a couple of moments before Elsa turned to her again, with a smile that Anna couldn't help returning.

"Please excuse me while we prepare ourselves for a discussion," Elsa said. "We'll meet you someplace more comfortable where we can get to know each other better and you can tell me what brings you to Arendelle. Belle will show you the way."

Her look lingered before she left with the other two, and Anna let herself be led by Belle into a small side room with a statue of a dancing woman in the centre.

"Please wait here, Anna," said Belle. "I'll come and get you when we're ready."

She didn't mind being left alone in such an exquisitely decorated chamber. The sculpture alone was stunning and captivated Anna's attention for many minutes. The decorations on the walls and floors, flowers in vases, tapestries with floral motifs and female figures, all impressed Anna as she admired them. She had no doubt the craftswomen of Arendelle had dedicated countless hours of their lives developing such skills to create these amazing works of beauty.

Not long later, Belle came back wearing a knee-length robe instead of her armour of before, but Anna didn't ask why. "Her Majesty is ready for you now, please follow me."

Suppressing her curiosity, Anna followed Belle through a long corridor and into a large chamber at the end. All around were shelves containing piles of clothes and towels, had Belle brought her to a storage room? The double doors on the opposite wall suggested otherwise, voices came from the other side.

"Do you need any help undressing?" Belle asked, standing close.

"Wait, what?"

"Our meeting room is a sauna," she explained. "It might seem strange to you but here in Arendelle we consider it the best place for discussion. In a sauna you can see the whole of your guest, and reveal the whole of yourself. That makes both equal, hiding no secrets; it's the best way to begin any sort of relationship with such trust. And there's no need to be shy! We're all women here."

"It's fine, I've been in saunas before," Anna assured her. "I can undress myself, you go on ahead, I won't be a minute."

"All right, then! I'll see you inside." Belle took off her robe and hung it up.

They had only met hours ago, and Anna didn't know what to do when Belle stood naked in front of her. She looked away after glimpsing a pair of pert breasts, and felt a blast of heat as Belle opened one of the double doors and disappeared into the sauna.

It struck her that behind the door, Elsa was naked, too!  _Queen_  Elsa; Anna wasn't sure why she kept thinking of her like that, forgetting all her status and power...

And she hadn't expected  _this_. She realised that Elsa's girdle was probably in this very room, unguarded and hidden amongst her clothes on one of those shelves... It would be so easy to take it right now and end her quest without any more delays... And it would also be dishonourable. Her trusting hostess had bared herself for Anna, and it was only right for her to do the same.

Anna quickly undressed, undoing her hair and arranging it over her breasts, then changed her mind and brushed her hair down her back instead, baring her figure and standing proud. Anna had nothing to hide, and she knew the power of her own beauty. She was ready, she was born ready, and naked as she had been that day, Anna took a deep breath of air and entered the sauna.

The door swung shut behind her, encasing Anna in a world of warmth, and a scent she found familiar; the hot wood of the walls and floor all around.  _If heat had a scent it would smell like a sauna_ , she thought, breathing it in.

She climbed down a few steps leading to the main section of the room, discovering this sauna was huge, much bigger than any others she had seen. There seemed to be an entire garrison of women inside, some sitting, some lying on the upper benches, some washing themselves or each other from buckets of water, all as close and comfortable as sisters.

Anna spotted Belle ahead and approached her, seeing she sat in between Marisol - whose olive skin was covered in a sheen of sweat, the thick dark hair between her thighs exposed as she stretched out on the seat in relaxation - and Rapunzel, hidden by her long, loose golden hair that clung to her figure, except for a single nipple showing between her tresses.

Not used to being naked, and with so many others naked around her, Anna averted her eyes; so much feminine flesh, women of different sizes and a variety of hair colours... She didn't know where to look.

There was nothing sexual about the situation - everyone was here simply to get clean - but it was all so  _sensuous_. Anna thought she caught many appreciative glances aimed her way while she walked around the women and towards the ones she knew.

The hiss of water meeting hot stones reached her ears and steam obscured her sight for a moment, yet Anna continued in the same vague direction, guided by her heart, thumping loud with the heat and her burgeoning arousal. Then the steam cleared like a vision in a dream, showing Elsa sitting right in front of her. The Queen's pale face was flushed with a blush that spread to the tops of her breasts, her nipples were relaxed in the heat and attracted Anna's eyes to their perfection. But she forced herself to look away and took in the white skin of Elsa's neck, now revealed in full by her braid, left to hand down behind her back.

Her movement almost shocked Anna, who had been staring as if at a statue. Elsa uncrossed her legs, drawing Anna's gaze to the patch of gold hair revealed between them for a split second before she raised it to Elsa's face, equally beautiful as the rest of her body.

Elsa did not need to speak, her eyes said "come to me," and Anna obeyed as if spellbound. She sat in the space at Elsa's side, her own breasts bouncing with the movement. Not used to such freedom, Anna felt a tingling, low in her stomach from the excitement, the novelty of it all.

Were Elsa's eyes on her body? The glance was too quick to tell, the next second she turned and asked Marisol, who sat on her other side, to pour more water on the sauna stones close to her.

Anna's eyes followed Elsa's pure white hand as she pushed aside a damp strand of blonde hair from her forehead with long, elegant fingers; Anna wondered what those fingers would feel like pushed up inside her core... Wetness gathered there between her legs while she allowed her mind to linger on that thought and watched beads of sweat form on Elsa's brow. A single droplet trickled down, over her flushed skin and between her breasts, stirring in Anna the urge to lick it, and at the same time stirring a strange envy of the drop; she wanted to surround herself in those soft round mounds of perfect flesh... And it wasn't only her breasts that were perfect, Elsa's whole body was flawless, and Anna let her eyes rove over her form.

A shift in Anna's consciousness made her lift her eyes, meeting Elsa's. A flicker of panic passed through her and she hoped Elsa hadn't noticed that she had been ogling her body all that time...  _Enough is enough_ , she decided.  _You're not here to stare at Elsa, and she isn't here to be stared at! You just have to work out the easiest way to get the girdle..._

Steam rose around them again, breaking their eye contact. The heat rose, too, prickling Anna's skin all over so her already-blushing face felt as if it burned. Her own body was now moist with sweat that dripped down her back and off her chin. Anna sighed and looked ahead of her to the large stove a little way below them in the centre of the room. She began to truly relax, watching the fire beneath the stones, giving in to the heat and the loud pounding of her heart until Elsa inclined her head towards her.

"Are you enjoying the sauna?" she asked, her words barely above a murmur, and full of genuine concern.

"Yes, I feel great!" she exclaimed, maybe a little too loudly, but she calmed her voice with her next comment. "The sauna's great, too! It's a long time since I've been in one, they're not so common back at home."

"And what brings you from the Southern Isles?" asked Marisol. She leaned over to look at Anna, resting an elbow on one thigh as she spoke in her rich, sultry tone. "Even here we heard the news that you killed the Prince not long ago. I hope you don't plan on causing trouble here in Arendelle."

Elsa lowered her brows, though Anna was ready to explain herself before the Queen could open her red lips to defend her.

"It's true that the Prince died by my hand," Anna said, choosing her words carefully. "But I didn't do it on purpose. And I left the Southern Isles because I felt it would be good to get out of the country for a while. I've always admired your people, and I only came here to see Arendelle and learn of your ways." It was the same reason Anna had given Belle earlier that day; not exactly a lie, but leaving out the main motive of her visit.

As she remembered the other woman, Belle looked over from further down the bench and reminded her of another reason.

"You want to train with us, too, don't you, Anna?"

"That's right!"

"Well, we take our combat training very seriously here; our country is no place for a holiday," Marisol said, and turned away.

Anna could tell she'd have to be cautious around her; she could not understand why Marisol was being so cold all of a sudden. Though Anna had all the warmth she needed from Elsa, who looked at her with apology in those deep blue eyes and touched her hand, laying it on top of Anna's own and sharing her heat.

"Marisol, that's no way to speak to my guest and kinswoman." Elsa's voice was as firm as her hand was soft, and it made Marisol glance back and lower her gaze.

"I'm sorry," she said. In the heat of the sauna, Anna couldn't tell whether she was blushing or not.

All were distracted from the tension a moment later when Merida sat down beside Anna, briefly leaning on her arm while her words assured her she was welcome. "I can tell you'll fit right in here, Anna. Travelling all the way to Arendelle is enough proof you've got what it takes." Despite her young face, the redhead had a womanly body, and Anna found comfort in what she said. "This is the best place in the world for a girl to learn how to fight!"

"What weapon do you prefer, Anna?" asked Elsa, the corner of her mouth raised in a half-smile.

"Oh, um, I use a sword, mostly." It was getting tougher to concentrate with Elsa giving her such attention; attention Anna somehow seemed to have craved all her life, even before she met this stunningly beautiful Queen.

"So do I," the blonde replied. "We should duel together tomorrow and I'll teach you some techniques, or maybe you'll teach me."

All Anna could think of was how Elsa could disarm her with that smile alone.

"We can test the strength of your arm." Elsa's hand left its place on hers, returning to the Queen's lap after Anna felt a brush of her fingers, gentle on the muscles of her upper arm. Another lingering look passed between them, then Elsa turned her head to converse with her countrywomen, and Anna listened with interest, hearing of local affairs, fascinated to find out how life went on in this land. She was glad she wouldn't have to speak herself while their talk continued; Anna knew she would ramble with all the distractions around her.

The sauna was growing even hotter, and her heart was beating loud. It skipped a beat when Elsa shifted in her seat so their thighs were pressed together, smooth, firm and damp with sweat.

Anna had no way to tell whether the sauna or Elsa's closeness was the cause of her quickening breath and heartbeat, and her racing thoughts. Her mind kept returning to what it would be like to make love with Elsa, and it wasn't difficult for her to imagine; they were both naked, sweaty and flushed, halfway there already... And they were so  _close_ , Anna could hear Elsa's panting breaths blending with her own.

The Queen looked at her again, as if she sensed Anna's carnal thoughts, and wet her lips, her tongue leaving them redder than before. In that moment, Anna forgot the other women around them and pictured doing it here and now, reaching her hand over that short distance and down between Elsa's thighs to discover the sweet secrets hidden there...

Anna hadn't got very far in her imaginings when the sauna began to empty and the women flowed out of the door. Elsa stood, too, and Anna followed instinctively, as if they were joined by some invisible force. She had not heard the conversation, and the others getting ready to leave, so Anna hurried out the door, different from the one she had entered by, and lost Elsa in the crowd.

The cool air was fresh in her lungs, Anna inhaled it deeply once she reached the outside but the view that greeted her took that breath away again. She stood behind the castle, in front of a secluded lake, with a waterfall on the opposite shore. Never before had a place seemed so peaceful to Anna; they were close to the castle and the city and the harbour, though the grove around this pool nestled below the mountains had its own silence, the peaceful melody of the distant waterfall dimmed it all and seemed to cut the lake off from the rest of the world. Yet it wasn't just the sight, Anna sensed the same holy feeling here as in the temple, with a subtle difference; this place was not made by human hands, and it was a place the women of Arendelle knew to preserve. This land truly was a country of wonders.

Standing there naked, Anna felt at one with nature, herself and the other women around her. Everyone went to bathe in the water, dispersing from the shore as they swam. Anna followed them, knowing Elsa was nearby and they could find each other when they wished.

Blades of grass between her toes gave way to water and she gradually waded into it. Rapunzel swam ahead, her hair floating in the lake, trailing behind like a golden flame. Anna did the same, lowering her body into the lake and gasping at the shock it caused in all her nerves and blood vessels, hurtling through her skin until her heart was racing. The crystal-clear water felt like ice, as if the waterfall had brought snowmelt fresh from the mountaintop. Anna stood up, her nipples pink and protruding while she slowed her panting breaths before trying to swim again. It seemed slightly warmer the second time, and Anna soon relaxed, sinking herself lower in the lake to let the water surround her.

Anna could hear the roar of the waterfall, still faint from here, but in its distant rush she sensed the beauty and power in this land. The susurrating summer leaves in the trees above her, the lapping of the limpid water and the faint flow of the fall combined in a symphony of soothing sounds that calmed Anna's head and heart so she swam without an aim until she ended up by the shore, standing in the shallows.

But she was not alone. Something, a stirring in her soul, made her turn her head. Anna's wet hair whipped with her movement, wrapping around her waist; she shivered at the sensation and the sight she saw.

Elsa was perched on a small wooden pier, looking at her with a smile upon her lips. Still naked, she was like a picture of paradise, and Anna grinned to see her, barely believing that a woman of such beauty could exist, let alone look at  _her_  with that inviting gaze. The blonde slid smoothly into the lake and waded closer. "How do you feel after the sauna?" she called.

"I feel... alive! You know what I mean..." Anna called in reply, stepping towards her, too, closing the distance.

"I do." Elsa's voice was softer, more tender now they were close, and her smile was stunning. Anna would have taken her hand, but Elsa was holding something in it. "Shall I wash your back?" she asked.

Confusion took hold of Anna's mind at the simple question, sprouting a dozen other questions in turn, mostly surrounding Elsa's motives.  _Why does she want to touch me? Does she... like me? Or maybe it's not such a big thing in Arendelle and she's just being polite... Well, I'm not going to find out unless I say yes..._  It did not take long for Anna to decide, with the hope of discovering those intentions as well as anticipating her touch. "Sure!" Anna turned around, blushing and waiting.

She could hear the water rippling as Elsa moved even closer. Soft, warm hands took her wet hair and gathered it up to drape over Anna's shoulder, then once it was out of the way, Elsa rubbed her back with a sweet-scented soap that she must have been holding before, and maybe even used to wash herself... It smelled of fruit and spices, a scent Anna would never forget, connected with such a sensual experience.

The touch of Elsa's hands on her shoulders made Anna tense up ever so slightly. Fingers probed around her muscles, kneading her shoulders, pressing out knots Anna didn't know were there. Elsa did not speak while she worked, which Anna found a little awkward at first, but then relaxed her mind and muscles as she got used to the firm, soothing touches and let herself see what Elsa could do.

Her fingers and thumbs went so deeply into her skin that again Anna's mind wandered again to what they would feel like inside her, these amazing, magic fingers... A hum of pleasure escaped her lips, followed by a contented sigh from the bliss of Elsa's touch.

The pressure ceased, replaced by gentle strokes along her shoulders. Anna wondered whether Elsa was admiring her freckles, or even counting them, her attention lingered there so long. Soon she felt fingertips trailing down the line of her spine, lower and lower until they dipped into the dimples on the back of her hips.

Anna could hear Elsa's breath, heavy behind her ear as the Queen leaned closer, placing her hands on Anna's waist, as if about to lift her. Elsa seemed to be testing how far she could go before she made Anna speak.

Yet Anna said nothing and kept quiet, though her body spoke for her, almost screaming its arousal aloud.

Shivers shot up Anna's spine, changing to the heat of desire and slowly spreading lower. Anna watched her nipples stiffen, keen to be caressed and squeezed and pinched, tingling when they seemed to summon Elsa's hands higher; Anna  _knew_  the other woman knew what she was doing and the effect it was having.

The soft, white hands raised slightly, slowly, the titillating touch inching ever closer until they lay a hair's breadth away from the fleshy underside of her breasts. Anna could hear loud breath all around and realised it was her own, quickened by Elsa's actions, mingling with the sound of the other woman's sweet exhalations on her neck. But Elsa's hands had stopped.

Anna wanted Elsa to start again, to continue up and touch her breasts, they ached to be held...  _Touch me higher, harder...!_  She opened her lips to say it out loud, to beg Elsa to do something, but all that came out of her mouth was a breathless moan. Elsa's hands shifted, a movement barely perceptible, though Anna's sensitised skin felt it easily, expecting the caresses she craved...

Yet the touches did not come and the warmth of Elsa's smooth palms left her body. Before Anna could do anything else, water trickled over her shoulders, poured by Elsa to clean the soap from her back. Stray droplets found their way down her chest and onto her erect nipples, even the soft sensation of the water was enough to provoke a hiss of breath to escape from between Anna's teeth as it dripped off them.

Elsa waded around to face her, looking at her breasts with heavy-lidded eyes and parted lips, lust visible for a moment that was soon shattered by voices raised in laughter and joy from close by; a reminder they were not alone. Anna knew Elsa would not continue now.

She blushed, suddenly shy, and wanted to hide how much she liked Elsa's touch, though it was obvious that Elsa had total awareness of how Anna felt. Folding her arms over her breasts, Anna met Elsa's blue gaze when it rose to her face. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"It was my pleasure, Anna." After those few words, Elsa left her alone to watch her wade away. Her body frozen and mouth agape from the beautiful sight, Anna's eyes followed every curve, every motion Elsa made until she reached deeper water and swam like a mystical creature.

Anna caught herself when all she could see of the Queen was her light hair on the water, joining her countrywomen on the other side of the lake, and a wide grin of satisfaction split her face. The massage had revealed what Anna had wished it would; Elsa was interested, she was  _definitely_  interested, and Anna had high hopes for when they were left alone together.

She swam some more, naked and free, in a strange land, far away from everything she knew, yet somehow at home and completely comfortable. With the water surrounding and supporting her, Anna realised how tired she was, her excitement of arriving in Arendelle and all that she discovered here had delayed the weariness of travel, and it hit her now. Above, the sky was reddening and darkening with the sunset, feeling later than Anna was used to, but this far north the summer days were long.

There was no sign of Elsa when she returned to the shore by the castle, though Anna had not been left alone. Belle, fully-dressed and holding a towel for her, stood up when she approached. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Thanks," Anna said, wrapping the towel around her body. "I did, very much! And sorry I spent so long in the lake. It's late, and I'd better go back to my ship..."

"You don't have to, Anna. Her Majesty insists that you stay here in one of the castle's guest rooms!" Belle said with a smile.

Anna was not going to refuse such an offer, and walked with the other woman to the changing room again. Belle bade her goodnight, leaving her to get dressed, but Anna wasn't alone for long. As soon as her clothes were on, a handmaid entered and showed Anna through the castle's halls, up a flight of stairs to the room where she would spend the night.

Her chamber was sumptuously decorated, more lavish than Anna expected from a guest suite. The deep red fabric of the drapes, blankets and curtains looked rich and inviting in the lamplight, Anna ran her fingers over the smooth, soft bedcover while she walked over to the window. It revealed a view of the rising moon over the sea on the horizon, and the rooftops of the city.

She left the curtains open, as was her usual habit, and turned back to the bed, beginning to undress, pulling off her tunic and breeches for the second time that day. Once she was free of her underwear and had hung all her clothes over the back of a chair, Anna stood naked in the centre of the room, more comfortable with herself and the feeling of freedom nudity gave, thanks to the sauna. She paused to stretch and enjoy that feeling, even more pleasurable after the amazing massage Elsa had bestowed on her, and almost jumped out of her skin in surprise when a knock on the door echoed around the silent room.

_It's Elsa, it has to be her!_  Anna decided after running through everyone it could possibly be.  _She's come to finish what she started in the lake..._  Anna grabbed the blanket off the bed to cover her nakedness, arranging it so it was fetchingly draped over her shoulders, hiding most of her body, but leaving enough skin exposed that Elsa would be able to feast her eyes on her freckles, as Anna was  _convinced_  she had done earlier. She ran her fingers through her still-damp hair, leaving it sensually tousled, at least she hoped so... With no mirror in the room for her to tell, it might have just looked a ridiculous mess...

Another knock sounded on the door, louder than before.  _She's impatient!_  Anna hurriedly turned the handle and pulled the door open.

A handmaid stood on the other side, the same grey-haired woman as before, holding something in her arms. "This is for you. Goodnight, Lady Anna!" she said, handing the heavy object to Anna before she made her way back down the corridor.

Anna took the gift into her room to discover it was a bowl of fruit, along with a small note written in the most exquisite handwriting. " _Dear Anna_ ," it read. " _I'm sorry that I couldn't hold a feast in your honour tonight. Please accept this fruit instead and think of me while you eat it. Sleep well, I'll see you in the morning. Elsa."_

It wasn't what Anna had hoped for, but the note still sped up her heart. She set the bowl down on the bedside table and took the first fruit her fingers found; a grape firm and juicy when she squeezed it with her teeth before taking it whole into her mouth. Next she fingered a ripe peach, savouring the fine fuzz on its skin before she lifted it to her lips and bit. Juice dripped down to Anna's chin as she glided her tongue along the sweet, fleshy insides to the hard tip of the stone.

She discarded it after a single bite, not hungry for fruit, only craving one thing... One thing that even lessened the motivation for her mission. The girdle was precious, yet the only treasure Anna wanted was in the patch of gold hair between Elsa's legs; Anna had barely seen the girdle on her, and she cared more about what was underneath...

But it was a dream, a fantasy. Elsa was a good Queen, she was just being polite, just being a good hostess, Anna told herself. Elsa wasn't going to sleep with her... She leaned over to blow out the flame of the lamp, leaving only the moonlight to illuminate the room.

Still, Anna had nothing to truly prove herself right or wrong, and she just hoped Elsa wouldn't come to visit her room in the night and see her drooling, with her hair transformed into a mass of tangles during her slumber. But she left the door unlocked.

Anna curled up in the satiny sheets, arranging the blanket around herself. Her skin was soft and sweet-smelling from the sauna and the soap... She traced where Elsa's fingers had been, stroking over her shoulders, her waist. But this time when Anna made her nipples stiffen and tingle, she touched them, pulling lightly so they ached and sent shivers to her centre. Anna's hands followed the sensation lower, over the toned surface of her stomach, through the curls between her thighs and into her slit. She brushed that little bud near the top and felt the comfortable satisfying heat of arousal spread.

Doing as the Queen had asked, Anna thought of Elsa - her beautiful face and breasts and hands - while she stroked the gathering wetness, lazily rolling her fingertips around her bundle of nerve-endings.

Anna sighed; her movements were slow, not enough to truly rouse herself. And she was too tired after seeing and doing so much that day. Remembering all she had beheld, Anna decided the greatest of Arendelle's wonders was Elsa.

She let her hand rest by her side instead, relaxing into the silken sheets and into sleep.

Morning came, and with it the same handmaid who had assisted her last night. The woman gently shook Anna's shoulder until she woke, bleary-eyed but well-rested. She clutched the covers around her body, though the maid didn't seem to notice she was naked and laid a traditional outfit on the end of the bed, explaining that she would wait for her outside while Anna dressed, then show her to the dining room where Queen Elsa awaited her presence.

The dress was made of a light, cream-coloured fabric and came down to her knees, with a thin belt of woven leather to tie around her waist and highlight her curves. She also had a pair of sandals with intricate straps that went above her ankles, and Anna was glad to discover they were easier to fasten than they looked. After she dressed her body and tamed her hair into two braids, Anna noticed too late that she had forgotten to put on her underwear, only to check the place where the maid had left her clothes and find she had brought no underwear for her. Anna didn't want to ask the woman for any... Maybe it was normal in Arendelle. Or maybe Elsa had arranged it just for her... She decided it did not matter, at least it meant she was dressed even quicker.

Meeting the maid outside, Anna followed her down to the dining room. Simply walking around felt amazing now, with air flowing under her skirt and between her thighs. And it made her more sensitive when she saw Elsa.

The Queen sat at the head of the table, eating fruit and cream with a silver spoon from an exquisite glass bowl. She raised her eyes to Anna when she entered and looked like she was hungrier for  _her_  than for her food. The passion in those deep-blue eyes was almost palpable. The spoon made a light ringing sound as Elsa set it down in the bowl and pushed it aside. "You look beautiful!" she exclaimed. Her eyes followed Anna's movements while she took a seat on the Queen's right hand side. "Did you sleep well?"

Anna couldn't stop her smile. "I slept  _wonderfully_ , thank you," she replied. "It must have been the sauna, and the amazing time I had yesterday. And because I thought of you before I went to sleep..." She did not regret adding that final comment; it was the truth, and Elsa  _had_  told her to do so in her note.

"I'm glad." Elsa grinned.

Anna dwelt on her own gladness and the loveliness of Elsa's smile as the same breakfast was set before herself. "Your home is magnificent," she said, before taking a spoonful of fruit swimming in sweet cream.

"Thanks," Elsa said, folding her hands on the table in front of her and leaning forward, giving Anna the slightest peek of her cleavage over the top of her low-cut dress and girdle. "You know, I'd like to see your ship, since it's your home while you're travelling; you've seen mine, so you should show me yours."

Anna swallowed her mouthful of fruit, detecting a barely-disguised motive in Elsa's tone... Unless it was her imagination... "Of course you can see it!" Anna agreed politely, nevertheless. "That's only fair, but it's not much."

"I'm sure it's perfect." She left Anna with a lingering smile before asking a servant to summon Belle. While Anna ate, Elsa told Belle where she was going, and asked her to take care of things in the castle while she was out.

Then before Anna knew it, she had left the castle and was walking to the docks by Queen Elsa's side. They were so close their shoulders brushed each other occasionally; being so close to her was a privilege Anna felt lucky to have.

Women in the street bowed and waved to their Queen, and she waved back, every movement full of regal grace. The summer sun shone down, glinting in her loose blonde hair flowing to her hips. Such a woman... Anna almost couldn't believe she was blessed enough to be in her presence, to be looked at by those eyes and spoken to by that voice...

"Do you like it here in Arendelle?"

"It's... magical!" Yes, Anna would definitely come back here when her questing was all over. She would return to feel the stones of the streets beneath the soles of her sandals again, to smell the air, swim in the lake, be with Elsa... To take her mind off all she knew would have to happen before that day could come, Anna asked a question she had been wondering about for a while. "What's it like living in a land without men?"

"I've never known any different," Elsa explained. "My mother, my mother's mother, and so on for uncountable generations, all lived this way and kept Arendelle the country it is without any assistance or influence from men. I see men when I travel abroad for talks of trade and war, but I care nothing for them; some say they have their uses, but not for me. And you? Do you miss them?"

"Nope," Anna replied automatically. "It's different without any men, but a good different. Women are enough for me! I prefer them, actually."  _Great, Anna. Very subtle..._  If Elsa couldn't tell she was interested in her now, then she probably never would.

But the look Elsa gave her showed no hint that she found her desperate or too forward; it made Anna think of after the sauna and the glances, the touches they had shared, and it gave her hope that everything might just work out after all... Maybe she would leave Arendelle with more than just the girdle...

She looked away to see they'd arrived at her ship, as Elsa had requested. "Well, here we are!" Anna helped the Queen onto the deck and watched her take in the sights that were so familiar to herself.

This was it, they were alone together and now Anna would find out whether what she had sensed and hoped since they first met was true. If Elsa wanted her, she would make her move soon, and Anna was content to wait until she did.

"Whenever I travel I always sail on my royal galleon or a warship and I get sick of them. I like your ship, though; it's simple, but nice."

"It's pretty plain compared to most..." Anna laid a hand on the mast, looking up at the furled sails. "But it does all I need it to do!"

Elsa gave her a glance, almost asking permission, before opening the door to the inner quarters. Anna followed, their light footsteps the only sounds around the still ship. The rocking motion of the waves, the voices of her friends and the roar of the sea were all missing, leaving it quieter than Anna had ever heard before.

The Queen peeked into each door, looking at what lay inside. Squeezing around her in the narrow space, Anna went to the door at the end, holding it open for the other woman. "This one's mine."

Elsa entered the small cabin, stunning her with a smiling glance, and Anna never thought she would see such beauty in her humble room. The door swung shut behind her as she followed Elsa inside.

"I'm used to it after all the time I've spent in here," said Anna, running her fingers along the fabric of her hammock. She thought of what Elsa would see; the small chair and table in the corner, the wooden chest containing all her possessions, a round porthole looking out to the sea, and her simple sleeping place, which to her Queenly eyes must have seemed so dull. "This cabin's nothing fancy," she said. "But it's cosy enough."

"It is," Elsa agreed, smiling that smile again, her blue eyes looking into Anna's so deeply it was like she could see into her soul, and Anna into hers; what Anna saw there was indescribable beauty.

She felt like she had shared so much with Elsa, their dwelling-places, the sight of their naked bodies, that massage... But Anna had not told Elsa the truth about her mission, and she felt she owed it after the hospitality Elsa had shown her.

"Thanks, Elsa." Anna forgot her title, yet the Queen didn't seem to mind. In fact, she seemed to like it; her eyes and smile grew even wider. Anna wanted to say it again. "Elsa..." She wet her lips, Elsa's eyes followed the quick movement of her tongue, and Anna took a deep breath. "Look, I'm going to be honest with you: I came here to get your girdle."

"My girdle?" Elsa asked, clearly confused. She brushed a pale hand over her waist, touching the garment.

"It's kind of a long story..." Anna lowered her eyes to her fingers, entwining themselves, but raised them when Elsa spoke again, with warmth in her voice and in her smile.

"I'm listening."

So Anna told her of Prince Hans and his father, she could feel herself rambling, but, as she had said, Elsa listened, with concern in her expression.

"Was that the first time you killed someone?" she asked when Anna finished.

Anna nodded, ashamed, even though she knew she shouldn't be; she should be strong like the warrior Queen in front of her.

"I see..." Elsa took a step closer. "Being half a goddess takes a lot of responsibility; I learned that the hard way, too. We have powers no one else can understand, Anna." She reached out and covered Anna's hands with her own, taking hold of them and stroking the backs with her thumbs.

Anna swore she could feel that power flowing through them, their shared heavenly blood glowing with the contact, giving her comfort and relief, letting her words come a little easier. "I didn't know how to say it before, or how to explain all of that with everyone else around... And when I accepted this mission I didn't know you'd be... so  _gorgeous_ , and so kind." She squeezed the soft hands holding hers, then let one go and brought her gaze away from Elsa's eyes to watch it as she touched Elsa's girdled form above the curve of her hip. "I don't think anyone else deserves your girdle." The fabric of it felt like no other she had ever touched, somehow hot and cold, smooth and rough all at the same time, and it made her fingers tingle, or was it with the anticipation to touch what was hidden underneath?

"If you need it I'll gladly give it to you." Elsa's voice was low and breathy, she let go of Anna's hand and reached behind herself, beginning to undo the fastenings of her garment.

It was tied tight to fit her slender waist, and Elsa pulled at the laces slowly. Anna stepped even closer to assist her, loosening the ties; there was impatience in them both, Anna could hear it in their breaths and feel it in their fingers, brushing together in their hurry.

When free, Elsa's waist underneath was just as beautiful and slender as when she wore the girdle, and this close Anna could see the outline of her nipples, the thin dress clinging to her full, round breasts.

Elsa extended her graceful arm to place the garment aside on the small table and turned back to face her. "I'll give you anything you want, Anna."

She loved the way Elsa said her name, she loved the way Elsa looked at her with her lids half lowered, the blue in her eyes dark with desire... Before she could meditate more on Elsa's beauty, Anna felt the other woman's arms wrap around her waist, pulling her close as Elsa took a step backwards to lean against the wall.

Anna had to lean up a little to kiss her, this tall, fair Queen, and when she did she lost herself in the sweet sensations; the sounds as their mouths parted for breath, returning again and again to renew the feel of Elsa's lips caressing hers, gentle, skilful, passionate. She hadn't planned any of this, yet went along willingly, knowing it had all been inevitable since they met, and her mouth opened for Elsa's tongue. Anna thought herself brave to kiss a Queen like this, though she had no shyness and neither did Elsa. The touch of her tongue was impossibly warm against Anna's lips, against her own... Warm and wanting.

Elsa's arms encircled her, firm and encouraging, and she moaned when Anna stroked their tongues together, dipping hers in to explore Elsa's mouth. It woke a passion in her, but Anna broke their kiss and showed that passion in words instead.

"You told me to think about you last night and I did." Anna's voice was a sensual murmur, though she never made it sound like that deliberately. "I thought about touching you, about you touching me..." She raised her hand to Elsa's shoulder, her fingertips finding their way under the sleeve hiding smooth, pale skin beneath to stroke the softness. Anna wanted to please her, this amazing woman, wanted to make her feel good. Elsa was perfect, unique in every way, and this close Anna could see she had faint freckles across her nose...

"I thought about the same," she said, her voice so low and sensuous. Elsa's soft lips kissed the corner of her mouth while her hands rubbed up and down Anna's lower back.

Anna could feel herself blushing, the control of her words lessening, and she took her hand away, backing out of their embrace ever so slightly. "I'm sorry I don't have a bed, there's only the hammock and we can't do anything there... But we can't be together in the castle either because they'd know and then - "

"If I want to take you to my bed, that's my own business as Queen," Elsa interrupted, her hands held Anna's waist, firm but tender. "And I will take you there in the future, but I want you here and now."

She shivered, trembled to hear those words; Anna had never been  _wanted_  so much in her life. No words would come for her to form a reply, and she didn't have to, Elsa kissed her again a moment later, unleashing her fervency, sucking on her tongue, her bottom lip. The nectar of Elsa's mouth tasted sweeter than fruit, hot between her opened lips; Anna saw them wet and parted when she leaned back to speak. "And I want you," she whispered.

Elsa's breath on her face, Elsa's eyes on her own, so close she could feel them beginning to join, starting a passion from which they would never be parted; Anna had never  _wanted_  anyone so much in her life, either.

Her soft cheek was heated with a blush when Anna kissed it, but she didn't linger there long, moving her lips briefly to the delicate shell of Elsa's ear, then down to brush her neck and breathe her scent while she kissed. Anna let her kisses become open-mouthed and listened with satisfaction as Elsa's breathing quickened, felt her hands clench and unclench in her dress, glad to please this beautiful Queen. She raised her mouth behind Elsa's ear to lick the soft, secret skin there, relishing the moan Elsa gave her, showing Anna she was doing it right.

And what Elsa was doing to her was just as wonderful. Her warm hands had wandered up her skirt to cup and squeeze her backside, Elsa's touch was so tender it made Anna's own breath come fast and loud. But it did not distract her from placing fervent kisses on Elsa's shoulder, discovering the skin there to be whiter than cream and more delicious.

She realised their time together was limited, even though Anna had no doubt she would remember this forever, and she knew she would have to make the most of it, give Elsa everything she could while she had the chance. Resting her head there on Elsa's shoulder, Anna murmured against her neck. "I'll never forget this, I'll never forget you when I leave."

"You don't have to leave," came her reply, Anna could feel the hum of her voice through her skin. "You can stay as long as you want. You're safe in Arendelle." Elsa's arms encircled her waist again. "Anna... I want you to stay." Elsa raised a gentle hand to Anna's jaw, cupping her chin so tenderly, she felt herself swelling forward like the tide, rising on her toes to press her lips, still tingling from Elsa's soft skin, to her mouth.

Anna thought it was all too good to be true, so while they kissed and her tongue traced the wet depths of Elsa's mouth, Anna's hands travelled over her body to memorise her beautiful form.

Anna's arms would not forget Elsa's small waist, nor her hands the curve of her behind; her thighs would not forget the yielding pressure of Elsa's as they opened to entwine her legs with Anna's when she pulled her closer. Anna would always remember the scent of her sweet skin and her breath. She could hear her own breathing with Elsa's, and imagined it rising as steam, turning the cabin into a sauna hot enough to let them melt and reform together, and Anna knew it was time to live the hot desire that had been born there yesterday.

She raised her hands, moving them round to lightly brush Elsa's breasts. Anna heard her gasp and pulled her palms away, suddenly worried that Elsa was not ready, only to have her hands clasped and soft lips pressed to her fingers.

"Your hands feel wonderful," Elsa said, leaning in to plant on Anna's lips a kiss that took her breath away.

To know how much she excited Elsa, how much this Queen of women wanted her made Anna's heart spring high in her chest. Yet it still seemed somehow unreal; she had to check, just once more, to make sure she had permission.

"And it feels wonderful to touch you," Anna replied. Biting her lip, she looked for reassurance in Elsa's eyes for a moment. "Do you really want me?"

The corner of Elsa's mouth lifted in that stunning half-smile of hers. "I want you, Anna. I've wanted you ever since I first saw you..." Her fingertip traced patterns in the freckles on Anna's chest, the soothing movements, feather-light, hypnotised her, and Elsa stared at her sun-kissed bosom, equally enraptured.

Before Anna got too lost in the sensual spell cast by Elsa's touch, she stopped her; Anna had to show her love, to show that she felt the same, and again, she united their lips.

She remained there until her lips were wet and almost numb from moving in harmony with those of Elsa. Anna's mouth and tongue were filled with Elsa's taste, her ears with the melody of their moans, and she barely stopped to breathe before she continued lower, pressing kisses to the pale skin of Elsa's chin, her neck, and lower still.

Anna's lips would never forget their place upon Elsa's chest, the snowy-whiteness, the smoothness, her heartbeat underneath... Her lips met her hands at Elsa's breasts when her palms returned there to squeeze and feel the stiffening of her nipples. She clamped her mouth over the tip of one outside the fabric, rough against Anna's tongue compared to the softness she knew was underneath, but still she sucked and stroked with her lips and tongue, wetting her while Anna felt her own wetness increase between her thighs.

Elsa released ragged moans above, her fingers wove themselves into Anna's hair, tangling there, her hands clenching as her cries rose and fell.

Giving her second nipple the same treatment got the same reaction from Elsa, and Anna began a rhythm, alternately sucking one hard nipple and lightly pinching the other. The wet, white fabric showed the pinkness of them bright beneath, and Anna kept going, building up the pleasure in her lover until Elsa ground her hips against her torso and wrapped a leg round Anna's waist. Her fingers around her wrist were tight with urgency when Elsa guided her hand down to show what she needed, so Anna could feel the heat between her legs and know she was ready.

Elsa wanted Anna to take her here against the wall; that realisation sparked a passion so raw and primal between them that Anna could only give in to it. She got down on her knees, the coarseness of the wooden floor unfelt in her eagerness. Anna brought her thighs together as she did so, and even that pressure set her centre tingling, but she let her arousal remain and took hold of Elsa's skirt.

"Have you ever done this before?" Anna asked, pausing to heighten the anticipation of them both, and also because she was genuinely curious to discover the answer.

Elsa nodded. "Not with anyone as beautiful as you, Anna," she said, blushing sweetly, though there was no shyness when Anna lifted up her dress to see her most intimate parts.

She did not reply to Elsa's compliment, wanting to show her gratitude with skills rather than words. Anna had done this before, too, and she knew how to please a woman well, though it saddened her a little that she and Elsa were not sharing their bodies for the first time; to join with her like that would have been the most intense experience of Anna's life. Yet instead of dwelling on that regret, Anna decided to think of everything she learned and remembered as all intended for this most important time, to give Elsa everything she had.

And all such thoughts were eclipsed by the sight of Elsa's womanhood revealed to her beneath the dress, with no underwear in her way. Eager for her, Elsa spread her legs as far as she could while still standing, so Anna could see her slit glistening with arousal.

She brought one hand down, leaving the other to hold Elsa's bunched-up skirt, and cupped her sex, leaning closer to breathe her scent, honeyed and heady and utterly delicious, but Anna only let herself kiss Elsa there for now; she wanted to make this as slow and sweet and memorable as possible.

Her fingers stroked the golden hair, tidily trimmed and perfectly framing the pinkness that Anna now dipped her fingertips into. She slid them further into Elsa's folds until they were covered in her heat and wet. Above her, Elsa moaned and she took hold of her skirt, gripping it to leave both of Anna's hands free to explore.

And Anna was desperate to discover the secrets inside her lover. She brought her second hand down, stroking over smooth skin and soft hair, and gently parted Elsa's lower lips to peek between them at her neat pink folds. Anna should have been nervous at such a sight, and her heart beat loud, mirroring the throbbing in her core, but she knew what to do. While Elsa's breath came quick and fast above, Anna separated her inner lips, hot and moist on her fingertips, to seek that one spot, she pulled back the little pink hood to see the most sensitive part of her lover and pressed the tip of her tongue to it.

Elsa tensed, and from the loud moan that came from her mouth, Anna knew she was giving her lover what she needed. She flicked her tongue over the little bundle of sensitivity, leaving Elsa panting when she pulled away. Her free hand stroked Anna's hair, the other gripping her dress so tightly her knuckles were white, and from her lips she whispered Anna's name over and over again, her tone low, almost like a chant to encourage her lover to continue.

Anna traced with her tongue the places where her fingertips had been moments before, the heat of Elsa's sex more intense now mingled with the heat of Anna's mouth, and Elsa moaned with the change. Oh, how Anna loved the sounds she made, and her own mouth released little moans, whimpers of delight with how delicious Elsa was. She tasted sweeter than any peach, and Anna brought her hands round to squeeze the firm flesh of Elsa's behind, pulling her closer while her tongue and lips caressed her inner folds, relishing the textures of her, silken with her wetness.

Focusing her lips, Anna sucked at the little bud, but she stopped when Elsa's voice rose in ecstatic cries of pleasure above; it was too much, she had brought Elsa too close to the edge, and Anna wanted this to last. She lowered her tongue to circle her entrance and felt Elsa quiver, felt her muscles clench.

Her hands lowered themselves to knead the toned flesh of Elsa's thighs when her lover leaned back against the wall. Her fingers tangled in Anna's hair before settling to squeeze her shoulder, her other hand still holding tight to the dress, keeping it out of the way so Anna could see her face when she glanced up, flushed and covered in a sheen of sweat.

Anna knew she was easing Elsa closer to her climax. Her core was as wet, warm and delicious as her mouth and Anna licked there slowly, savouring Elsa's taste, dipping her tongue inside her entrance, swallowing Elsa's essence. She licked the whole of her lover's slit to a rhythm, Elsa's quick, heavy breaths growing louder with each stroke of her tongue. Every slick surface of Elsa's secret place felt her wet caresses, as though Anna wanted to commit them to memory; which she decided she most definitely did, to re-live these most intimate moments in days to come if she was alone and far away from this wonderful woman.

Anna stopped to catch her breath and pulled away, with the air cool on her wet lips, she looked up. Elsa's prominent breasts now blocked the view of her face, her nipples stood so stiff and her bosom was heaving with her panting breaths. The Queen's head was back against the cabin wall, but she leaned over and lowered her gaze, meeting Anna's eyes with her own, her lids heavy and her cheeks blushing red, sharing a smile with Anna before she watched her return to make love to her.

She parted Elsa's folds again, her womanhood reddened with arousal, and Anna felt a thrill of satisfaction knowing that she had done this to her. The view she now saw was the most enticing sight of Anna's life, and she brushed her fingertip to the nub at the apex of Elsa's sex, now hard and poking through her shiny wet folds; Anna couldn't help herself. She only toyed with it lightly and knew it was not enough for her lover.

Elsa gave a shuddering gasp. "Anna, don't tease me...!" Her fingers squeezed Anna's shoulder with the slightest bite of her nails.

And Anna didn't intend to leave her like this for much longer; Elsa was soaking wet, she could feel that just by gliding her fingertip down through her folds. Anna knew she must  _ache_ , her thigh muscles were tense and she still clutched Anna's shoulder, thrusting her sex up to her finger.

"Do you want me to touch inside you?" Anna asked, barely getting her words out; the question was so intimate.

"Anna..."

From that answer, her name moaned in those tones, Anna sensed desperation, sensed that Elsa would welcome whatever she did if it would give her release. Slowly and gently, she eased a finger into her core, exploring Elsa's hot, slick depths.

And how Elsa  _moaned_. Anna savoured those cries of pleasure, loving the feeling as Elsa's muscles changed and clenched from inside when she slipped a second finger into her. They fitted as if they belonged there, as if Elsa and Anna were only whole together, joined like this. Anna had never felt that before, it made her heart thud and her stomach flutter, yet she did not let that distract her.

Kissing Elsa's outer lips with an open mouth, Anna traced her tongue around them while her fingers felt the textures of her insides. She curled them, pressed the wet hidden flesh until she found that spot, knowing she had the instant she touched it from her lover's reaction. Elsa tensed, closer now, Anna could tell from the change in her moans; they were a constant, low sound but began to rise when she rubbed that area of buried sensitivity.

She pulled her fingers out, desperate to taste Elsa again and still feeling that connection, despite no longer being inside her; Anna doubted that bond would ever fade. Replacing her fingers with her tongue, Anna pushed it up into Elsa's core as far as she could, then out again just as quickly before Anna clamped her mouth over her, lapping and drinking her juices, licking her all over.

Elsa's thigh wrapped around her shoulder and she angled herself so Anna's tongue touched her harder, flicking and pressing with lovely, liquid sounds. When Anna squeezed her backside to push her face closer in between Elsa's thighs, she made it all even more intense for herself so Elsa's heat and wet and sound surrounded her and the whole of her face was damp with her essence. It was not long until Anna brought Elsa to her climax and felt her core shudder against her lips and tongue while her cries rose high.

She forced Anna's lips to leave her lower ones when she all but collapsed in pleasure, but Anna gripped Elsa with a tender touch supporting her waist, guiding her down to the floor where she sat gasping, her legs spread wide, her womanhood red between them. Anna knelt watching her, and it seemed both blissful hours and mere moments before she recovered.

It had all been so intimate, every minute she spent with Elsa since the merest touch of her fingers as they had met and clasped their hands to begin it all. They did so again, Elsa's hand now warm with desire, and both their hearts even warmer from the love they had expressed, visible in the blush on Elsa's cheeks and chest.

Anna shuddered at the brink of her own orgasm with a desperate wanting that throbbed and dripped between her thighs, she felt it keenly in every movement of her body when Elsa came to her, taking her shoulders in her strong, slender arms, and lowered Anna to lie on the floor below her.

Elsa's blonde hair tumbled down over Anna, onto her face, her chest, surrounding her in feelings of safety and love as it shone bright in the light from the window. She shook it away, revealing her beautiful face like some sort of dream. "You're amazing," Elsa murmured. Her soft fingers smoothed the sweat-dampened fringe from Anna's forehead, so tender and loving, the same emotions Anna could see in her eyes.

"So are you." She pulled Elsa down to embrace and kiss her, their tongues entwining slowly and wetly, moving from one woman's mouth to the other.

The hardness of the floor was eclipsed by the softness of Elsa above, her breasts pressed Anna's, even through their dresses, and the long strands of hair down her back were like silk in Anna's fingers as she stroked them.

Elsa's hands were stroking down her sides to her thighs and pulled Anna's dress above her waist to uncover her womanhood. The Queen leaned back on her knees to admire the sight.

Anna knew her own hair was unkempt compared to Elsa's, though some of her lovers had liked to lose themselves in that thatch of red; Anna could tell Elsa was one of those women, and she was right. Elsa slowly ran her fingers through the thick, coppery patch with a sigh of pleasure, echoed louder from Anna's mouth when two of those elegant fingers made their way past her damp curls, into her warm, slick lips and between her folds of wet, womanly flesh.

As Anna was already privileged to know, Elsa had strong, slender fingers, and everything she did with them was perfectly precise. She thrust her hips up to press her hardened bud against those fingers when Elsa circled around it, too briefly, before tracing down her slit, so slow that Anna had to cry out but only moans, and maybe Elsa's name left her lips; she could not shape her cries to tell her desperation.

Anna shuddered when Elsa's fingers finally entered her, and in the pause after their blissful moment of connection, she could hear Elsa's breath come loud and slow with her captivation in pleasing Anna.

"Is that good?" Elsa whispered, her eyes full of desire beneath her lashes, never leaving Anna's as she curled and stroked and probed inside her core.

Anna knew Elsa knew her touch felt  _far more_  than good, she just wanted to hear Anna say it, so she did. And, besides, it was a question that deserved an answer. "Yes, Elsa! Just like that, don't stop!"

Elsa cut off any more breathless praise Anna could express with a series of wet, loud kisses until she changed her ministrations again and Anna's gasps became too much for her to concentrate on kissing. Inside her, Elsa moved her fingers purposefully, sliding them in and out of Anna's centre with soft, wet noises while her thumb was buried at the top of Anna's folds, rolling on her nub of pleasure in a constant rhythm, even when her fingers moved harder and faster.

She was so skilled, Anna had never made love like this; what she shared now with Elsa went beyond everything she thought was possible between two people, this intense connection... She felt like their bodies and souls were joining, truly turning from two to one.

Elsa must have had a power in her fingers to summon such sensations from Anna's body. Anna wanted to tell her all this, to ask her how she worked her magic, though all that came out of her mouth was a moan of astonishment that she managed to shape into a single word. "Elsa...!"

She was suddenly aware of her nipples, hard and rubbing teasingly against the fabric of her dress. She wanted Elsa to touch them and satisfy that ache, but she couldn't ask, all that left Anna's mouth were moans, so her own hand, driven by desire, reached up to grab and squeeze a breast.

Elsa's replaced it almost at once, tweaking, rolling, rubbing her sensitive flesh and adding more pleasure to the sensation growing inside her that Anna knew would soon burst.

The slender, skilled fingers inside her pressed Anna's inner sweet spot with every plunge and at the same time, Elsa continued to move her thumb on Anna's sensitised bud, her other hand was on Anna's breast, her thumb there giving her stiffened nipple the same sensual treatment.

Anna bucked her hips, pushing Elsa's fingers further, her hand on Elsa's back holding their bodies close; the slick sound of their love rose up to her ears from Elsa's thrusting fingers in her core.

Every sense was stimulated nearly to the brim; Elsa's taste still on her tongue, the sweet scent of her hair and skin, the sound of her breath and Anna's own moans so constant they almost didn't register anymore, and touch... Elsa's touch surrounded her most of all.

Elsa straddled one of Anna's legs, her thighs squeezing, spreading the warmth and wetness of her sex onto Anna's skin, rocking with her rhythmically as though they were one, joined in their shared pace. Hungrily, she kissed Anna, claiming her cries again, and on top of everything else, that touch of Elsa's lips and tongue transformed her so the pleasure inside Anna became like a separate sense, consuming her until she belonged to Elsa, all of her. The movements, her fingers pushing even faster and harder inside, made it all stronger; Elsa's thumb pressed right on her swollen bud, her other hand still cupped Anna's breast, the nipple so stiff and sensitive that every movement of Elsa's fingertips against it made her upper body shudder, and Elsa's hot mouth sucking on her tongue... It was all too much.

Through Anna's body the heat of pleasure flowed in waves, emanating from in her core, and, more intense than ever, the release came. Her body shivered and shook as she climaxed around Elsa's fingers, the muscles of her sex squeezing them for a time that seemed to last forever. Warmth overflowed, Anna felt it blossom in her cheeks and chest, tingling in her fingertips, she could even feel it on her thighs, her stomach...

The next couple of moments were a blissful blank in Anna's memory, though during them, Elsa's touch left her. Panting, Anna opened her eyes, but seeing only the ceiling, she raised herself on her arms and looked around until her eyes found Elsa, still close, kneeling beside her, with liquid on her hand and wrist, droplets dripping down; Anna's own thighs and dress had patches of wetness on them, too. "Wow..." Anna breathed as the realisation sunk in.  _Is that... Did I just...?_  After all that intensity, this was amazing, but also... embarrassing, and it set her heart racing again while a blush burned in her cheeks. Why wasn't Elsa shocked? Her own mouth was open in surprise, but Anna closed it, feeling the need to explain herself. "I didn't know I could... That's... never happened before, I'm sorry!"

"You don't have to apologise," Elsa said, simply. She raised her hand, shining with Anna's essence, to her lips, her gaze locked with Anna's own, unblinking. She didn't look surprised at all, Anna realised Elsa knew a lot more than she did about the arts of love to know how to do that to the female body, the secrets of how to make a woman explode with pleasure. Anna felt very lucky while she watched Elsa lick off her spilt juices from her hand and fingers, the Queen's expression one of rapturous enjoyment, like the cat that got the cream. Lowering herself, Elsa licked up Anna's spent and sensitive slit, making her gasp and tremble with both the sensation of the other woman's hot tongue, and the realisation that Elsa loved her; she had not said so in words yet, but Anna felt it in every action. Elsa did not linger there long but leaned back to look at her, a myriad of indefinable emotions in her intensely blue eyes, a smile on her lips.

Anna relaxed under her gaze, and the awareness of her aches awoke. Her back was stiff from lying on the hard floor, the force of their lovemaking had left her with a satisfied aching inside, though when she stretched, sighed and sat up, Anna had never felt so at ease. Both she and Elsa had fading beads of sweat on their faces, a sign of exertion from their passion, but they could rest together now.

She came to Elsa, drawn to her like they had been lovers for years, with both the boldness and the vulnerability that Elsa had inspired in her deep down since they met, and wrapped her arms around the other woman. Elsa's encircled her and they held each other, comfort and warmth, the rhythm of their breaths and heartbeat surrounding them. Both women were still clothed, yet Anna felt the curves and softness of Elsa's body as if that fabric boundary was not there, and Elsa's hand that stroked her back seemed to radiate tenderness on her skin.

"Are you all right?" Elsa asked softly against her ear.

Anna felt better than just "all right", but she considered her deepest thoughts before answering. It sometimes seemed to her that she did not belong anywhere because of her half-Divinity; Anna was not mortal, though not a goddess either, and felt those facts, however faintly, when she spent time with almost anyone, but not right now. Here with Elsa, in her arms, Anna knew she had found the place where she belonged, and it occurred to her that they did not seem like a Queen and an adventurer, nor like strangers at all even though they had met just a day ago... All that was too much to say, so Anna stuck to the basics. "I feel like I've known you my whole life, like you're my very best friend."

She pulled away to look at Elsa and saw the same emotions reflected to her, both lust and a deep, true love that was present in everything they had shared.

"I hope we're much more than friends," she said, her words caressing Anna's heart and soul while her hand caressed her cheek, stroking under Anna's lip with her thumb. "I want to see your body again, Anna."

Not just her words revealed to Anna how much Elsa still wanted her; the way she was breathing and the look in her eyes made it clear she was ready for more. And Anna's body responded, renewing her blush, quickening her heart and breath; Anna was ready to strip for Elsa, to pleasure her again, to do anything the Queen ordered, yet at the same time, she knew no orders would come, so Anna said the reply on her mind. "Only if I can see yours."

Elsa's laughter chimed quick and clear. "Of course! Would you like to undress me?" Her voice was low, as soft as velvet, and the desire Anna saw in her eyes, dark blue beneath her lashes, sent a swirl of arousal to her centre.

Anna nodded, emboldened, lowering her hands to the hem of Elsa's dress and taking hold of it. She tore her eyes away from Elsa's to watch herself pull the dress slowly up over her thighs, her hips, the hair between her legs... Anna had seen her body before, had seen inside her, but this seemed somehow more intimate. Gradually she lifted the fabric over Elsa's pale, toned stomach, and higher, exposing more of her flawless form. Anna left one hand to hold the dress while she let the fingers of the other lightly brush over the soft skin beneath Elsa's breasts, almost as the other woman had done to her yesterday, but Elsa flinched at the touch. Anna paused, seeking the source in her eyes where she found a look of playfulness with a hint of warning, telling her silently what Anna had already guessed; Elsa was ticklish, and Anna couldn't hold back her own grin. She dug her fingers lightly, teasingly under her lover's ribs, too quick for Elsa to stop her so Anna tickled her until her breasts bounced with the loud laughter shaking her body.

"Anna!" Elsa grabbed her wrists to make her stop, though her eyes held only happiness, to Anna's relief, yet in the second she celebrated that relief, she left herself exposed. Elsa retaliated, darting her hands up to tickle under her arms, and the sensation overtook her for a moment, taking unbidden laughter from her lips before she squirmed away.

"Oh no you don't!" Anna pushed her down and sat astride her in a smooth, swift movement that made Elsa squeal. She smiled up at Anna, seeming much younger, and Anna felt like a little girl again, giving in to the desire to tickle Elsa until neither of them could take any more, burying her fingers under the other woman's arms.

So responsive, even with the dress in the way, her touches made Elsa writhe, breathless laughter ringing around the cabin as she tried to grab Anna's arms and stop her, but Anna was too fast and reached her fingers below Elsa's ribs again to the sweet spot she had discovered made her shriek with laughter.

She shrieked so loudly that neither noticed the door opening until suddenly a voice broke through the sounds of their joy.

"Get off her!"

Anna turned her head just in time to see Marisol striding forward with a bare blade in her hand, but not quick enough to avoid her stroke and the sharp metal cut into her arm. Pain blossomed with the crimson blood that Anna watched for a split second before adrenaline rushed through her, letting her ignore the hurt so she could stand and speak. "Wait - " she began. Marisol raised her sword again and Anna couldn't read the look in her eyes.

"No, stop!" Elsa had got to her feet and seemed about to rush between them, but she moved too late, Marisol did not listen to her Queen and aimed her sword.

Anna had to defend herself, and with no weapon she had no choice but to use her fists. In a lightning-quick movement, reluctant but powerful, Anna struck, punching Marisol in the shoulder, so fast she barely felt it herself. The force of it knocked the other woman back, but she did not collapse to the floor, her body crashed into the chair and her head hit the table, the sword she held thudded on the floorboards. Marisol fell limp while Anna watched.  _Is this going to end like it did for Hans?_  Anna asked herself fearfully. Except it would be even worse if it did; this woman had no evil intent, she was Elsa's friend.  _She must have thought I was trying to..._  Anna's mind raced and her legs went weak, her arm throbbed when she moved it, blood dripped onto the floor to stain the wood red.

Elsa had to choose, Anna knew, the Queen had to help either her countrywoman or her guest, and Anna didn't know how to feel when Elsa chose herself. Ripping a strip from her own dress, with warm and gentle hands Elsa wrapped it tight over the cut to staunch the flow. "Anna..." Sorrow sounded strongly in her whisper.

Anna was more concerned for Marisol than herself. "No, go and check how  _she_  is," she told Elsa, but the Queen did not leave her side. Relief coursed through Anna when she saw Marisol rise to her knees. Her sword arm hung at an unnatural angle, and with her other hand she held her forehead, looking towards them and focusing her gaze.

"Marisol, I'm sorry!" Anna attempted to stand up, though her relief could not dull the pain the movement caused, drawing a wince from between her teeth. Elsa's hand cradled the back of her head, her soft voice murmured Anna's name to make her sit again.

"No, I'm sorry," Marisol said, watching their shared tenderness. "Forgive me, I can see you both... You were..."

"We weren't fighting." Elsa's emotions showed clearly in her words, she could hear fear and disappointment in them most of all. Anna felt like crying, but they both listened to Marisol when she spoke again.

"I thought Anna planned to capture you and take you away, or... kill you. So after a while I couldn't stand waiting for you to return, and I followed where you went; no one would listen to me when I explained and they were right. I'm sorry, when I saw you both, I did what I did in the heat of the moment to protect you, Elsa. Anna..." She fell once more before she could finish, her body landing on the floor.

"Marisol!" Anna cried. "Make sure she's all right." She looked at Elsa with wide eyes, not trusting herself to help; the pounding and lightness in her head grew stronger every second.

Elsa wrung her hands, her otherwise elegant brows creased in concern. "I have to leave you while I get help." She tightened the makeshift bandage and looked with troubled eyes at Anna's wound, at Anna's blood on her fingers. "Don't move," Elsa said, then rushed out, her long hair streaming behind with the speed she ran.

Anna touched where Elsa's fingers had just been and felt the blood still flowing from the cut, leaking out her warmth and life, but it did not stop her from wanting to check on Marisol. Yet she did what Elsa said and remained motionless while the panic and pain of the last few minutes took their toll, fading Anna's consciousness until the only thing Anna remembered of the remainder of that day was the touch of strong, soft hands, cool against her forehead and her back.

She had no memory later of what came next, but Anna was not quite senseless at the time; shock and stress made her forget. The next thing she knew, Anna woke up in a warm bed, the same one in which she had slept before, with her head resting on firm pillows, and Belle sitting at her side, reading a book. She looked up when she saw Anna move.

"Anna! How are you feeling?" she asked, smiling down at her, placing her book aside.

Anna took note of every sensation she felt and discovered she was better than she had expected. Clean and dressed, she lay under the warm blanket, her arm was securely bandaged and wrapped in a sling, no longer bleeding or causing her pain, but it ached dully, stronger when she moved her fingers, though it gladdened her to find no serious damage was done, and anyway, Anna could use both her arms with equal skill. "I feel fine! Great, actually. At least..." Pulling the bedcover off, she sat up and felt no dizziness - a good sign - yet one thing still troubled her. "What happened? Is Marisol...?"

"Marisol is very well. The last I heard, she was resting in her home," Belle replied, and seemed to read her mind before Anna could even ask another question. "If you're wondering about Queen Elsa, she's been by your side the whole time. She left a short while ago to put some things in order... I'm sorry to say a few of my countrywomen are suspicious of you, but Her Majesty will soon show them the truth."

Thoughts of both confusion and certainty danced around Anna's mind to the rhythm of her speeding heartbeat; certain that what she had felt for Elsa was love from the moment they met, but confused by that certainty; she hardly knew Elsa, besides the fact that she was kind and perfect, and making love with her had been the single most sublime experience of her life... And even more confused that she could almost feel her lover at the edge of her senses, almost see her smile. "Can I go and see Elsa?"

The name had hardly left her lips when, as if by magic, a guard knocked and pushed open the door. "Demigoddess," she said, with a small bow to Anna. "Queen Elsa wants you to meet her right away. Please come with me."

Anna leapt out of the bed and followed the guard as fast as she could, wishing the other woman would lead her quicker. Belle walked behind, concerned at her rushing, often urging her to slow down for the sake of her health, and it flattered Anna to know she cared, but she only truly wanted Elsa's attention.

At last, the guard opened a large, ornate door, revealing Elsa right behind it. The Queen turned and her light-blonde hair seemed to shimmer with the movement, framing her flawless face, settling with a beauty more perfect that the world's finest work of art when she looked at Anna. At the sight of Elsa, Elsa's eyes - the warmest blue there was - smiling and focused on her, the soaring feeling in Anna's stomach propelled her forward, gazing at Elsa with every step, though it only lasted a moment before she turned away, touching Anna's wrist with her smooth, soft fingers.

Only now did Anna notice they were in the throne room, and not alone, a crowd of other women stood below the dais, watching them. She wasn't expecting Elsa to want to meet with her in public, but it did not faze her.

Holding Anna's hand, Elsa led her to the throne and sat, crossing one shapely leg over the other before she spoke to her realm, her fingers still laced with Anna's. "This is Anna, my guest, my kinswoman and someone who has become very dear to me since she arrived here. She has brought only goodness into this land, but unfortunately, yesterday a misunderstanding left both her and my good friend Marisol hurt." Elsa paused, allowing Marisol to step forward.

The brunette had her injured arm in a sling, like Anna's, yet apart from that, she looked to be in perfect health. "Yes, it was an accident. I made a mistake which I regret deeply," Marisol said, her low voice clear and her eyes showing her words were genuine, any previous harshness Anna had ever sensed in them had gone without a trace. "I treated Anna wrongly and I want to make up for it."

Elsa glanced kindly at Marisol for a brief second then continued to address her subjects. "I have given Anna my girdle, my trust and my heart; she's a guest in my land and under my personal protection while she stays here."

Compelled to speak herself, Anna cleared her throat. "That won't be much longer. Everyone's made me welcome here so far, but I don't want to outstay it."

She felt Elsa squeeze her hand and sensed her eyes on her, yet Anna kept looking at the crowd to show her truth. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone, please believe me, and I'm truly sorry."

"You've done no wrong!" called a woman from within the crowd.

Anna smiled in her direction as applause rose around the throne room. Elsa smiled, too, and stood beside her, silencing all the other women by simply opening her perfect lips to speak.

"Then it's settled: while she is my honoured guest, no harm will come to Anna of the Southern Isles, and we shall continue to make her welcome. Women of Arendelle, I know you'll respect my wishes."

Her countrywomen bowed and curtseyed under Elsa's benevolent gaze, then filed out of the hall, leaving herself and Anna alone on the dais.

Even after the sweet words Elsa had spoken to her citizens, doubt gnawed at Anna deep inside. She looked at the Queen, the most amazing woman she had ever known...  _This beautiful woman who let me love her... Have I lost her?_

Elsa simply stared at her in silence for a moment, an eternity. Throughout the couple of days they had known each other, every one of Elsa's gestures captivated Anna, yet now eye contact was almost unbearable. She waited for Elsa to explain that after she left Arendelle they would never meet again, and she knew Elsa would be right. Anna was lost in those thoughts, waiting for those words when suddenly, Elsa's lips were on hers, soft and tender.

"I love you," Elsa breathed against Anna's mouth, her beautiful voice full of passion; she felt it, too, in Elsa's fingertips as she held her face, and saw it in the deep blue pools of her eyes. "I know it's not long since we met, but it's been enough for me to realise that. You're a wonderful person, Anna."

All this inspired Anna's emotions and thoughts to turn themselves into words, wanting to make Elsa feel the same, to tell her how she was wonderful, too, even  _wonderfuller,_  to say how Anna felt like she was  _home_  here with Elsa, and how she didn't want to let that go...

"How do you feel?" Elsa asked, a welcome interruption that helped Anna form her answer. Her eyes and hands left Anna's face, lowering to her arm, and she almost touched it.

"My arm's fine," Anna said, fondly laying her hand on Elsa's. "But my heart's beating so loud right now, and it hurts when I think of going back to the Southern Isles, because I love you, too... And I'm not leaving here without you, Elsa. Come with me. Please." She squeezed Elsa's hand gently, desperately.

A moment of graceful hesitation went by, emotions flickered over the Queen's beautiful face, though her indecision did not last long. Placing her hand on top of Anna's, encasing it in both of her own, Elsa spread her warmth and affection between them. "I will," she said. "I want to stay with you, Anna, wherever you go." At Anna's ecstatic grin, she continued. "Seeing a new land will be exciting, I've never visited the Southern Isles before."

"But, Elsa," Anna began, pouring out her fears in her words to the woman she loved. "The King might give me other tasks to do after this, I'm still not free, and I can't guarantee you'll be safe if you stay with me."

"Well, I can guarantee that I'll help you, Anna, in any way possible; I can fight by your side, I can try and convince the King to give you your freedom again, whatever it takes to make you happy, I promise."

She was struck speechless - something that only happened to Anna on the rarest of occasions, though increasingly more frequent since she had met Elsa - and followed the Queen, pulled by her hand, still entwined with her own, as she went to find Belle and organise their journey.

Remaining at Elsa's side, Anna only heard snippets of their conversation; her happy heartbeat drowned out the rest. She learned they would take other warriors with them, Merida, Rapunzel and Marisol, but Belle would stay here to rule the realm in the Queen's absence. Anna did not feel out of place while the other women talked between themselves. With Elsa close by, she just  _belonged_ , and Anna had never truly felt that in her life before Elsa came into it; she had given Anna so many things, love and friendship, home and trust...

She caught Anna's eye, their gazes met and in her blue eyes there was a glint, on her lips, a half-smile. "We'll take your ship, Anna."

A grin tugged at Anna's face, and she let her smile widen with her joy, guessing Elsa's mind was returning with her own to the passion they had shared there. She knew they would work something out about her hammock, and Anna imagined lying in Elsa's arms while the ship rolled on the waves, riding Elsa, and Elsa riding her as the ship rode the ocean... Anna could face whatever the King of the Southern Isles had planned for her if Elsa and her love were in her life. And she would return to Arendelle with Elsa one day, sooner than she expected; Anna believed that with all her heart.

Alone again a little while later, Anna approached Elsa, raising herself up across the small distance that separated their faces, feeling and hearing her sweet breath, slowly, savouring every perfect feature of Elsa's being until their moist lips joined and caressed each other, summoning soft sounds of love, faintest moans from both women, their bodies entwining while they stood.

In that kiss, Anna felt not only Elsa's beauty and their deep, soul-binding connection, she sensed their future. They would both sail off on their proud, mighty ship, blessed by all the heavenly powers, guiding them to their lives together forever, to endless adventures discovering all about the world and each other. Divine blood mingled with human in both their veins, blazing within each woman, whole and complete now Anna was with Elsa; her only equal and only beloved. Anna couldn't be happier, and from Elsa's melodic laughter when she wrapped Anna in her arms, she knew Elsa felt the same.


	18. Gyges

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on Herodotus' myth of Gyges.
> 
> Contains Kristanna.

The mirror showed Elsa the same face she saw every day, yet it seemed somehow different when she looked now. Stray strands of her light-blonde hair, faintly mussed from sleep, framed her features. Blue eyes, flickering as she studied her own face, gold lashes, lips that always managed to look deep pink, contrasting with her pale skin; all unchanged.

At last the difference made itself known: her freckles drew her gaze more than they ever had before. There were not many across her cheeks, faint but visible up this close, and no stronger than they had always been; Elsa just saw them differently, thought herself more beautiful for having them. The little sun-made marks made her think of summer and the joys that season brought; carefree laughter and warmth...

And Elsa knew the reason why. When she saw her own freckles now, Elsa couldn't help but think of Anna. Tiny freckles covered most of  _her_  face, and other areas of her body, too, as Elsa had discovered yesterday.

Anna mostly dressed modestly, so Elsa had noticed almost at once that, while she sat, her dress had slid down her shoulder, the strap slipping down her slender arm and showing the woman watching what lay beneath. Wandering over the revealed skin, Elsa's eyes took in countless freckles, decorated by a lock of red hair come loose from the bun gathered at the nape of Anna's neck, draping over her shoulder.

Elsa had found true beauty there and could not keep her gaze away, drinking in the secret sight as if she would never get the chance to do so again - which she sadly knew she wouldn't - until Anna caught her.

The force of her stare must have been strong enough for Anna to  _feel_  and Elsa panicked, her heart pounding before a second later the Queen gave a sweet brief smile. Elsa returned it without a moment's hesitation, then tried to think of other things.

But her eyes were soon drawn back to see Anna had not noticed her dress, the skin of her shoulder still exposed, like a work of art arranged just for her... Elsa had forced them away again, after several long seconds of internal struggling.  _I'm in control, I'm in control_ , she kept telling herself, reminding herself to have discipline, to be professional.

She had looked once more not long later, attracted by the movement as Anna pulled the strap of her dress up with the tip of a finger, and Elsa dwelt now on how private, how intimate that action seemed, something she felt a rush of illicit pleasure to have witnessed...

Catching her eye in the mirror, Elsa frowned at her reflection.  _You didn't become a guard to spy on people_ , she told herself silently. Though spying always happened, one way or another, against Elsa's intentions. Nothing ever goes quite according to plan, she knew that only too well.

She thought it strange that despite her quiet nature and need for few friends, she had ended up watching people for a career, but Elsa found them fascinating. People revealed things about themselves when they thought no one could see; some would use such a position to exploit others, yet Elsa used it only to protect those she watched over, to keep them safe. To be a guard, one had to be noble, inside and out.  _So keep your thoughts appropriate_ , she reprimanded herself, with a final glance at her eyes.

Her slender fingers skilfully arranged her hair into a chignon and Elsa felt more like her dutiful self already, the feeling increasing with every item of her uniform she put on.

The first thing to cover her body was a tight, padded undershirt to protect her skin from the chain mail that went on next. The armour felt light after years of wearing it; though Elsa had never had a real need for the chain mail, she knew well that its protection was necessary and it was always better to be safe than sorry.

Over that, she wore a plain shirt, buttoning it up to the top with quick efficiency and tucking the shirt-tails into her dark green breeches, buckling on her sword belt to secure them in place. Elsa put on her winter jacket of stately green over that, a much-needed defence against the weather, felt keenly by all guards standing stationary in the cold stone castle or outside. The last main part of Elsa's uniform was her long green overcoat, sumptuously decorated with a red lining and ornate patterns on the shoulders and edges.

Nearly dressed for the day, Elsa buttoned up the coat and fastened the belt around her waist before tugging on a pair of knee-high boots. Next, over her neat, light-blonde hair - the style now seeming serious but beautiful with her uniform - Elsa placed her guard's hat, with its small red crest on the side, arranging it so the gold emblem of the kingdom was exactly in the centre.

Finally, Elsa pulled her gloves over her hands, they were large, almost reaching to her elbows, and white, with the crocus emblem in black for a stately contrast. And her outfit was complete, Elsa stood a proud guard of Arendelle, ready to begin her day of duty.

The uniform could not hide the swell of her breasts, the curve of her hips or the feminine sway of her walk; it was who she was, and Elsa did not try to disguise herself to fit in with the other guards. She fitted in just fine, anyway, and always had, right through her training up to the present day, despite being one of just a few women to get the position of an official guard of the city, and Elsa was the  _only_  woman in the small royal regiment of castle guards.

Elsa had been a city guard until a few months ago when she was chosen to work at the castle - Elsa didn't know why she had been chosen, though there were a few theories she thought likely - and she would remember the first day of her new job forever.

A day of warm sunshine, it had been perfect for a wedding, the first royal wedding for many years. The whole of Arendelle had buzzed with excitement, and Elsa got to see the big event firsthand, to see the new King and his bride.

Elsa first saw Anna a few minutes after she got married as she stepped out of the temple, and she was a picture of joy; a picture Elsa did not realise until later had been engraved upon her heart.

Anna had a smile for everybody that day, and gave one to Elsa just for a moment, turning her head to pass out of the doorway. Elsa returned it, feeling the genuine joy spread from the new Queen, tugging at her heart and the corners of her mouth. She had bowed, and Anna moved on with her bridegroom.

King Kristoff looked just as happy as his wife and had worn a huge grin on his face, parading Anna on his arm. Amidst cheers from the crowd and flower petals thrown by gleeful guests raining down, they walked off together to start their new life.

Elsa did not know Anna then but thought her beautiful, and remembered the way her smile lit up her surroundings at that moment in time. While the new stage in her own life started, too, admiration was the only emotion Elsa knew she felt towards the Queen.

The castle was not unfamiliar to her, having been there briefly for her inauguration ceremony when she officially joined the guards, and Elsa had even met the last King once. She remembered him as an old man, whose resemblance did not live on strongly in his son. The castle and the court were different places now, filled with many more people, younger, louder, merrier; no one could be lonely here.

And Elsa had grown to love the place, the beauty of the building and its maze of halls and rooms, all decorated with excellent taste and known to her off by heart after just a couple of weeks.

Maybe the reason she had been chosen as a castle guard was to have an extra female servant around for the new Queen. Elsa told herself that now to stop from dreaming destiny had brought them together, it was just chance and the fact that she was a woman. Elsa had been too busy to dwell on it during those early first days in the castle. Her duties were simply announcing guests, guarding doors, halls and the castle gates, she hardly saw the royal couple because of all the time she spent bowing. The new bride was busy, too, entertaining her family and friends, hosting parties in the Great Hall, and that was how Elsa's friendship with Kristoff had started. The King felt out of place among his wife's relatives and instead would often stay in his study, where he struck up a conversation with Elsa one day and considered her his friend ever since.

To begin with, Elsa wondered why they were so friendly to her, but she soon learned and gladly accepted that King Kristoff and Queen Anna were just nice people, and she was clearly their favourite. The other guards didn't mind, there was no jealousy among the castle servants, and all were professional. Yet it was difficult for Elsa to maintain that air of professionalism for reasons that grew stronger each day.

From the start, she found the King and Queen great company, even if she technically wasn't involved in their conversations despite being in the room with them. Elsa listened to their banter as they joked and chatted like siblings, and had to stifle her own laughter, too, sometimes. When she couldn't, Anna always did her best to make Elsa laugh even louder, breaking down the walls of mistress and servant, Queen and subject that should have been between them.

She got to observe almost every aspect of their life, including the rare times when Kristoff and Anna argued like siblings, too, though these were not often, and the couple always made up. Elsa found that far worse because then they were more affectionate than usual and would do things like sit together by the fire, Kristoff serenading Anna with songs played on his lute.

Thankfully, Elsa blocked out those occasions, retreating inside herself to reach a mental state intrinsic to being a guard, becoming like a statue; impassive and still, yet ready to spring into action at any sign of trouble.

One of Elsa's favourite things about her job was that she only had to speak when spoken to, as she preferred. At least, it had been that way until she started working at the castle.

It was not Elsa's fault that Queen Anna spoke to her, that she learned her name and said it often, making it sound like poetry on her tongue... She was a friendly, open and warm person, always greeting Elsa and making small talk. Anna treated her kindly, and despite knowing her for no more than a few months, she seemed to regard Elsa as a friend. And despite telling herself not to, Elsa began to think about her as if they were indeed friends, and then much more.

She knew she shouldn't feel like that about her Queen, her employer, but she and Anna were so close so regularly, walking together or talking together every day. Elsa had even discovered the colour of Anna's eyes: green like her uniform, which made her wear it with more pride than before.

Guarding Anna had let Elsa learn every one of her expressions, the mannerisms she had, and first Elsa found her cute. She liked to wear her red hair in twin braids that bounced when she ran or when her body shook with laughter, and she had a way of talking with her hands, captivating Elsa just as much as her words and the sweet sound of her voice. Elsa happily watched over Anna, and time passed quickly and pleasantly whenever she was in her presence.

So it had been over the summer and autumn. Now it was winter, a strong, fierce season in Arendelle, covering the land in deep drifts of snow that would not subside until the spring. Elsa followed a freshly-shovelled path leading across the courtyard from the guards' tower to the castle entrance. The sky was just getting light, though the day had very much begun. Other servants crossed the courtyard, hunched over in thick cloaks, breath clouding around their faces. This time of year, one was only truly warm when eating, drinking, around a fire or making love, so it was natural that Elsa's mind would turn to one of those things when on duty... And unfortunately it led her to thoughts Elsa knew she should not have, and the realisation that she found Anna more appealing each day.

Her hidden fire was fuelled by stolen glances at Anna's body, Elsa's eyes wandering where they shouldn't to admire her beauty. The Queen's winter wardrobe did not reveal any flesh - except for the time Elsa saw her shoulder - though her clothes highlighted her sensuous figure in new ways, making Elsa wonder about what was underneath... But it was not just that. Anna's beauty shone from within, showing her carefree spirit and wonderful soul; it energised Elsa to be with her.

Elsa sighed, exhaling the mist of her breath in front of her. She knew she had fallen in love, and with the worst person her heart could choose; Anna was a Queen, and married,  _to a man_. Elsa knew her feelings would never be returned. Anna was just friendly to her because she was the best, kindest person in the world, and Elsa was in trouble because her feelings wouldn't go away.

These days, Anna was the only one who could make Elsa smile, and not just smile, grin like an idiot. She had caught herself once in the mirror, thinking about Anna's kindness... It was ridiculous.

Today, her face was fixed and impassive as she took over the dull duty on the castle door. Her mind was blissfully blank, watching the sun rise in the sky and people enter and leave the castle without any trouble; her heart was free from trouble, too, at least until midday.

When another guard came to take over the watch, Elsa made her way into the castle to the council chamber where she was stationed for the afternoon. Many members were already seated, and she stood in her place by the door inside the chamber, a fellow guard on the other side, close enough to listen to most of the discussion and to watch out for behaviour that might threaten the royals, since sometimes these meetings could get heated.

Elsa heard Anna before she saw her and even the sound of her voice made her heartbeat quicken. She stepped into the hall, holding Kristoff's hand, and smiled when she saw Elsa. Her hair was loose today, the first time Elsa had ever seen it so, and she found it breathtakingly beautiful.

Elsa's own lips responded, curving in a smile that came right from her heart until Anna turned away to take her seat with her husband. She watched Anna go, her hair flowed in red waves down to her waist, catching the light with her movements. A little gold crown perched on top of her head, and the long-sleeved green gown that she wore highlighted her figure and the colour of her hair; two features Elsa loved most about her...

She smoothed the skirt out of the way as she sat in the high-backed chair at Kristoff's right hand, the melody of her voice not quite lost among the murmur of male discussion; she and Elsa were the only women in the chamber, Elsa realised, when she remembered that there were in fact people other than Anna in the room, in the world...

Soon Elsa relaxed and got used to the emotions Anna inspired in her, suppressing the urge to rush over and sit in the seat beside her, to talk with her for the rest of the meeting, the rest of her life...

That seat was soon taken, however, as the council assembled and after a few minutes had passed, each chair around the long table was occupied. Elsa and her fellow guard closed the doors and the meeting commenced.

Voices echoed around the chamber, accompanied by the crackling of the fire in the background. Servants occasionally came in to tend to the blaze, ensuring it continued to warm the large room. No one seemed suspicious, Elsa kept an eye on the Weselton delegates, but as the council went on, she deemed them to be no threat. Once assured, Elsa returned to her favourite activity: watching Anna.

Having become familiar with all of her moods and ways of showing them, Elsa could easily tell that Anna was bored. She twined a strand of hair around her finger and stared into space, her other hand tapped at her side; there was not much for Anna to do but listen, and the current discussion was dull indeed.

The council went over the kingdom's finances with Kristoff, who seemed to be paying attention, or at least looked like he was trying to.

Elsa couldn't help but like the King, it wasn't his fault he married the woman she fell in love with, and besides, she and Anna would probably never have met if he hadn't.

Kristoff often confided in her that he was not good with people, and that earned him Elsa's sympathy, since she used to be the same way herself, and that was one of the main reasons she had become a guard. However, once she reached adulthood, Elsa had gained all the confidence she needed, whereas Kristoff, who she knew was the same age as herself, seemed as uncomfortable as a schoolboy in this situation.

He looked uneasy in his regal clothes. Kristoff was burlier than most men there, and though his suit was perfectly-tailored, it somehow didn't fit him. His crown sat at an angle on his head, annoying Elsa, who willed him silently to straighten it.

Kristoff did not do so, but pulled at his cravat while he discussed paying the kingdom's debts. "I had help from Lord Sven, here." He indicated a man sitting to his left, not much older than himself, whose face was mostly covered by a mop of scruffy brown hair. "So I've given him lands on the western shore and a lordship to show my thanks."

"Hang on, you can't give a title to just anyone," Anna pointed out, and she seemed to have voiced what everybody else was thinking from the other faces around the table. "'Lord' Sven, give those lands back, they already have an owner!"

Sven opened his mouth to reply but Kristoff cut in first.

"You don't tell him what to do!" He placed his hand on Sven's shoulder. "Sven is my friend and he deserves that land more than the last owners.  _He's_  worked for it, he didn't just inherit it."

"All right! No need to get so grumpy!" Anna folded her arms, looking sullen, but she did not push the issue.

And it was an issue that was close to Kristoff, as Elsa knew from their conversations. Under normal circumstances, Kristoff would not have inherited his position, either. He was not of noble birth, despite being the only son of the last King; Kristoff was his bastard, and his sole heir when he died. The regency council learned of his existence not long after that tragic event, Elsa had heard, and decided he was the best choice to be the next monarch.

Kristoff used to be even more awkward than he was now, and he had become friends with Elsa at that time, when he was still adjusting to his new royal life and did not know how to treat his servants. Time had passed and Kristoff had lost most of his awkwardness, but kept Elsa's friendship. She watched him speak now and could see he had come a long way since then.

One thing that Kristoff could not change, though, was his appearance, which was rather less than kingly; his nose looked like it had been broken, which always gave him a somewhat rough look, despite his friendly manner. And although Elsa never got close to him, she could still often smell his pungent odour and guessed he probably didn't like to bathe much, and she knew for a fact that he shaved with a knife, not a razor. It wasn't Elsa's place to make such judgements, but Kristoff was not worthy of Anna, she had felt it since the first time she saw them together and still felt it now. Anna's beauty, her kind-heartedness, were wasted on him, but the truth was, Elsa had to admit: Anna liked Kristoff, and although they were still in the early months of their marriage, it looked like she didn't care about his shortcomings.

It was still early in Kristoff's rule, too, yet his subjects did not seem so satisfied, and with good reason. As they had all seen today, Kristoff had no qualms about doing favours for his friends or ignoring his councillors' advice and following his own mind. He had been far too liberal regarding Weselton's trading rights, for one thing, spending much of this meeting believing the Duke's flattering words and empty promises when even Elsa knew that his nation had no good intentions towards Arendelle.

Though Kristoff always had support. When he moved into the castle, he had brought with him a clan of hunters and ice harvesters from the mountains, the people he had grown up with and considered his family. There were several here today around the table; a short, rough-hewn folk, ragged-clothed and loud, and they backed Kristoff in everything. He clearly valued their opinions more than his advisors', and their company, too, sometimes going off to visit the rest of the clan in their valley far beyond the city and leaving Anna to deal with things here.

But Anna was a good Queen and enjoyed taking responsibility while her husband was away. She liked to hold public court more often than Kristoff, and the people of Arendelle appreciated her care, telling her their problems and never threatening her. Kristoff had been threatened on quite a few occasions, there had even been one attempt on his life, though promoting Elsa's friend and fellow guard Marshmallow to work in the castle had put a stop to that.

And everyone put Kristoff's failings aside today on the last conference before the Midwinter holiday.

The mood had changed in the room, becoming relaxed, yet impatient to finish at the same time, and was not helped by the sky darkening outside. Servants came in to light candles and stoke the fire so the council chamber was full of comfortable light and warmth.

After a while, Elsa noticed a change in Anna, she sat low in her seat, her head bent over. Looking closer, Elsa saw she had fallen asleep, and the sight of Anna like that was the cutest thing she had ever seen. Her lips were parted and her eyes closed, her long lashes cast shadows on her cheeks in the firelight and her chest gently rose and fell with her breaths, so peaceful and beautiful that Elsa hoped no one would disturb her.

Suddenly Anna jerked up, she had woken herself and rubbed her eyes before slowly stretching, extending her arms and arching her back, drawing Elsa's gaze to her breasts which, though covered by her clothes, looked so, so soft...

Anna's eyes opened on Elsa, who realised just then that she was still staring, and she had begun to smile involuntarily while she watched Anna. Quick as lightning, Elsa looked away, blushing and returning her expression to that of a dutiful, impassive guard.  _Don't feel_ , she told herself.  _Don't show how much you like her!_

She risked another glance at Anna to check her reaction and saw her looking back, right into her eyes, with a playful lopsided grin on her lips.

Anna shuffled in her chair and beckoned with a quick motion of her fingers, summoning Elsa to her before she even told her legs to move, as if pulling on an invisible thread that joined them together... And before she could think, she stood at Anna's side.

The redhead leaned up to whisper to her. "Want to see something funny?" Her breath tickled Elsa's ear and warmed the top of her neck, sending a shiver of delight down her spine as she looked at Anna. Entranced to be this close, Elsa nodded instinctively.

"Watch and wait," Anna said, and pointed. Elsa's gaze followed her finger to the Duke of Weselton, currently in an animated discussion with Arendelle's master of coin.

Anna put her hand on Elsa's arm to keep her there; the touch should have surprised her, made her panicked and flustered, but it didn't, because it just felt so  _natural_.

They did not wait long. A few seconds later Elsa watched the little man jump in his seat with emotion. Weselton's hair jumped too, and his toupee landed crookedly with a slapping sound Elsa could hear all the way from where they were. He shifted the hairpiece back into place like nothing had happened, and the sight was so absurd it made laughter rise in Elsa's throat, which she quickly stifled. Anna's shoulders shook, too, and they bent their heads together, giggling like little girls.

Elsa stopped abruptly when she recalled who and where she was and saw people looking at them. Hoping Anna would understand, she hurried back to the doorway without looking behind, clenching her fists and chastising herself for losing control, for forgetting so many things.

Luckily Kristoff saved both her and Anna from any awkwardness they had caused, he'd clearly had enough and stood up, pushing his chair back with a loud scraping noise that got everybody's attention. "Well, I think we've covered everything," he said, ignoring confused looks from some of the faces around the table. "Thanks for your help. I hope you'll join me at the castle celebrations, but if not, have a very merry Midwinter!"

And with that, the royal council was dismissed until the start of next year.

Elsa and the other guard opened the doors for the men to file out, talking as they went, but Elsa paid them no heed, still only focused on Anna.

She stood and stretched, hanging back while the room emptied, chatting to Kristoff. They came up close to the door so Elsa could hear their words over the murmur of voices.

"Want me to go with you?" he asked.

"No, I'll go with Elsa, you carry on," Anna said, and stood on tiptoe to kiss Kristoff's cheek. "I'll see you later."

Their affection did not register with Elsa, Anna had just chosen her company over Kristoff's, and her heart was racing.

"Oh. All right. Hi, Elsa," he said, noticing her for the first time.

She inclined her head politely, hoping Kristoff did not notice her blush and beaming smile at Anna standing by her side.

"Bye, Elsa," he continued, grinning friendlily, before he walked off with Sven.

Anna smiled up at her. "Shall we?" She wandered ahead and Elsa followed, as she would follow Anna anywhere.

They chatted while they walked, and every moment helped Elsa discover more about Anna's personality, new little idiosyncrasies, the figures of speech she used the most, new facts about her life. It did not take long for them to reach Anna's chambers, and they parted after mere minutes of conversation, yet the memory of those minutes stayed with Elsa for the next few days.

They were days of excitement for everyone in the castle, less so for Elsa, who spent them going about her usual routine, but that magical time of year even brightened guard duty.

It was the day before Midwinter and a tree had been put up in the library, another in the Great Hall, complete with ornaments on each branch, shining in the light from the candles. There were decorations in all the halls, evergreen garlands and wreaths bringing festivity to every corner of the castle. Elsa had to patrol the gardens that day, though even the outside of the castle looked changed with the season. The setting sun shone down in the late afternoon sky, its light looking gold through the clouds and casting its colour all around.

Snowfall lay thick upon the gardens, blanketing the grass, weighing down the otherwise bare branches of the trees, dusting statues and everything else in its glittering decoration. Drifts of deeper snow had been shovelled from the path, the covering underneath was firm from the press of footprints and crunched under the soles of Elsa's boots. Everything looked so lovely and Elsa walked along, her heart gladdened at the sight of the snow, the silence it lent all the surroundings, and the crisp scent of the air.

No one, not even a bird or an animal had touched the snow on the lawn. Elsa paused, taken back to her childhood by the urge to leave footprints on the flawless ground, to make snow angels, build snowmen. She stepped onto the edge and her boots left ankle-deep holes in the smooth, white surface with quiet crunching sounds.

Elsa looked, tempted to go further, but no; she suddenly felt unwilling to disturb such perfect beauty. And she was no longer alone.

Anna watched her, standing there as if Elsa's thoughts of beauty had summoned her. Elsa saw her, and knew she was losing all sense of professionalism gained from her guard training. She couldn't help herself; despite Anna's smile, Elsa thought she looked troubled and, the snow forgotten, she hurried along the path towards her.

"Are you all right, Your Majesty?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Anna replied. "Great, actually! It's good to see you, Elsa." The sound of Anna's giggle distracted Elsa momentarily from her own elation. "And I feel even better now!" she exclaimed and held her bare hand out to catch a snowflake on her palm.

A soft sound of surprise left Elsa's lips, it was snowing, thick flakes falling from the sky, especially for the two of them; she could feel the snow caressing her face as it passed to land on her shoulders.

Wide watching the snowfall, Anna's eyes looked blue, or had they been blue all along? Was it just the light? Elsa lowered her gaze to Anna's cheeks and nose, pink with the cold, and she longed to warm them. Her red hair contrasted with the snow settling on the twists of her braids, so bright it looked like its fire should have melted the flakes, but it didn't, they kept settling there, and on Anna's long eyelashes.

Despite the fur-lined cloak she wore, Anna looked cold. Her breath misted around her face and she shivered, but spoke as if she hadn't noticed. "I'm taking a walk before dinner, care to join me?"

"I don't know if you should, Your Majesty," Elsa replied, more concerned with Anna's health than her own desire to spend time with her. "It's cold out here."

"I'm not cold," Anna insisted, despite another shiver shaking her body. "I'm just getting used to the elements!"

In the split second before Elsa decided to do it, she knew what she wanted to do was clichéd and definitely the wrong thing to do for a married woman, but she did it anyway.

Grateful for all the practice the years had given her, Elsa quickly undid the belt and buttons of her coat, removing the garment from herself to drape it over Anna's shoulders. The green of the fabric seemed to match Anna's eyes now, though they had looked blue moments ago; Elsa learned more about Anna every day, she was proving to be positively enigmatic...

The loss of a layer of clothing made Elsa's muscles stiffen with the sudden chill, but she soon found the change refreshing, relaxing her mind from the swirl of emotions caused by Anna's presence, Anna's closeness, Anna's smile aimed at her now as they walked on, side by side through the snow.

"Thanks," Anna said, snuggling Elsa's coat around herself. "What about you?"

"The cold never bothered me," Elsa reassured her, returning her smile.

"I bet you're used to standing outside in the cold for hours and hours."

"I guess I am," she replied, flattered by Anna's interest in her life, and the blush her next remark caused warmed Elsa from head to foot.

"Your physique helps, I'm sure, too. You must be strong and have so many skills after all the years of training it takes to become a guard!"

"I suppose..." Elsa said. "I can throw a spear and wield a sword..."

Anna listened to every word, her eyes fixed, her lips parted in awe. She glanced down at the sword Elsa wore at her side, revealed now her overcoat was off. "Have you ever fought anyone, like, for real?"

"No, this job's not that exciting." Elsa smiled. "But I enjoy it very much," she added.

"Do you ever get bored?" Anna asked.

"Sometimes. Although I usually find a way to occupy myself." Elsa didn't tell her it was by re-living encounters like this, or inventing new ones; her mind was full of Anna, always.

She stood still in the spot where they began, they had walked around the grounds in almost no time at all. Anna stopped, too, looking right into her eyes, and she was adorable, standing there clutching Elsa's coat around her with cold fingers, her flushed, freckled cheeks and her red hair, and the snow still falling...  _I would kiss her if I could..._  Elsa thought. The moment was as perfect as a dream, and as unreal. "I'm sure we could talk for hours, you and I, but I suppose you're very busy," Elsa said, proud of herself for managing to sound so coherent in the face of Anna's beauty. "It's Midwinter tomorrow, after all. You have to organise the party."

"I've done most of the preparations already!" Anna replied, brightly. "Did you see the decorations around the castle? I chose them all; Kai and Gerda helped me to put them up!"

"You chose them? They're beautiful!"

"Thanks." Anna's blush got deeper, and Elsa was glad that her compliment helped to keep Anna warm.

"It reminds me of when I was a child," Elsa continued. "I've loved this time of year ever since I was a little girl."

"Me too! There're so many things about Midwinter that make it special: the music, the light, the food. And that feeling, you know? When it's cold outside, and everyone's cosy and warm indoors..."

Elsa agreed with a nod of her head. Though Midwinter was not the only reason she had to celebrate tomorrow. Elsa liked to keep her extra reason to herself, but she decided to make an exception for Anna. "Actually, Midwinter is my birthday, too. I'll turn twenty-two tomorrow."

Anna's eyes and mouth went wide for a moment. "Your birthday's on Midwinter?"

Elsa nodded again, wondering what Anna's thoughts were.

"Mine's on Midsummer! We must be connected!" Her joy looked bright enough to melt all the snow in Arendelle, though she did not give Elsa much time to dwell on the revelation that joined them. "Oh!" she exclaimed, excitement visible in every feature from the grin on her face to her feet, almost jumping up on tiptoe. "I have a present for you! I was going to give you it for Midwinter anyway, and now I know it's your birthday, too..."

"Oh, no, you don't have to, Your Majesty." That wasn't what Elsa had expected at all, yet she did not get a chance to protest any more.

"Come with me," Anna said, linking her arm, leading her inside. And through the layers of clothing, they were touching closely for the first time. Elsa's heart pounded with her footsteps, hurrying to match Anna's pace.

"It's nothing to be excited about, really, but - Woah!" Her delicate shoes slipped on an icy stone step. Luckily, Anna held Elsa's arm and leaned heavily on her while she regained her balance.

Elsa turned, her other hand lifting to support Anna's waist, steadying her. The action was automatic, Elsa would not have done it if she had thought before it happened. "Are you hurt?" She looked right into Anna's eyes, and Anna looked into hers, their faces the closest they had ever been. Elsa felt breath on her cheek from Anna's nervous giggle.

"No, I'm fine," she said, smiling up at Elsa. "I probably would have been if you weren't here! Thank you, Elsa." Anna pressed a hand over the top of hers while they both stood upright again.

In another moment they were wandering towards the castle, and Anna still clutched Elsa's arm.

"Where was I?" the redhead asked herself. "Oh yeah! Your present's only small, but I know you'll like it anyway!"

Anna led Elsa to her chambers, thanking her each time Elsa opened a door for her on the way in an amusing little ritual, a game that brought smiles to their faces and laughter to their lips.

"Thanks," Anna said to her once more, this time returning Elsa's coat.

"It was my pleasure, Your Majesty," Elsa said, feeling like she was in a dream. She held her coat in her hands as if it had been blessed, as if Anna were a goddess gracing Elsa with her presence, and her eyes followed every little movement of her form, enraptured.

"Wait here just a moment," Anna said, and entered her room.

Elsa did, she would do anything Anna told her to do, and while she waited she put on her coat, finding the garment too warm here inside the castle and with Anna's presence making her heart race, pulsing heat around her body at a rate Elsa did not know was possible.

She tried to think of things to say during the seconds Anna was occupied, planning reactions to the gift; whatever Anna gave her would be wonderful. Though part of Elsa's mind reminded her it was all kinds of wrong being here, accepting a present from the Queen...

Anna returned, smiling that smile, and Elsa didn't care.

"You can't open it until tomorrow!" said Anna, brightly, pressing a small object into her hands. It appeared to be a box wrapped in red tissue paper with a gold ribbon tied around it.

"I won't, I promise! Thank you, Your Majesty." Elsa bowed her head in gratitude, looking into Anna's eyes, which seemed green now in the hall's candlelight. She had learned that the irises of those eyes varied in their shades of shifting colour, from sapphire to turquoise, sometimes looking like a limpid lake whose depths were strewn with emeralds. When contemplating them in that moment, Elsa thought of eternity and felt herself seized with a giddiness, swirling in her stomach, as though she were leaning over the verge of infinity. The expression she saw there was equally powerful: an openness, offering hope, like Anna knew Elsa's most secret thoughts and foretold that all those dreams would come true.

Elsa had to look away, focusing instead on Anna's hands, clasped at her chest. She wondered what they felt like, what it would be like to touch them skin to skin; Anna had touched her hands before but Elsa always wore gloves, preventing her from knowing even that pleasure. She wanted to hold them, to feel the warmth of Anna's soft palms and stroke her slender, delicate fingers; one tucked a strand of stray red hair behind her ear.

Everything she did enamoured Elsa. Watching Anna lick, wetting her lips - for a second so brief Elsa almost thought she imagined it - led quickly to thoughts of kissing her, and Elsa imagined how simple it would be to lean in...

 _She's not here to be your fantasy_ , Elsa's conscience rebuked her.  _She's your Queen_.

"What can I get you in return?" Elsa asked, regretting the question almost instantly; with her salary, Elsa would never be able to afford something fit for a Queen, even if there was anything Anna could possibly want that she didn't have already.

"Just... don't leave," came Anna's reply, unexpected and more wonderful than Elsa could have hoped. "I feel safe when I'm with you." Her hand pressed Elsa's shoulder, squeezing tenderly, but too briefly.

Elsa bowed to her and stuttered out a response, everything she could think of was inadequate compared to the emotions Anna's words inspired in her heart. "I- I won't leave you, Your Majesty."  _I will guard you with my life and keep you safe forever_ , Elsa vowed silently; she hoped her feelings would pass through their joined gaze.

"You're such a good guard, Elsa," said Anna. "The best I've ever known. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the others, too, but Olaf falls asleep or he can't stop talking, and Marshmallow hardly talks at all. Why is he called Marshmallow, anyway?"

"It's a long story..." Elsa smiled, surprised but not disappointed by how the mood between them had changed from tentative romance to friendship so quickly.

"I've got time." Anna smiled back with an expression that made Elsa's heart thud loud in her chest, its sound interrupted by the sudden chiming of a clock.

"No, I don't!" Anna jumped, beginning to walk away. "Sorry, I'll be late for dinner; you don't have to come with me, I'll be fine on my own." She was walking backwards and looked reluctant to leave Elsa's company, yet still she went and still she talked. "I'll see you soon. Happy Midwinter! Happy birthday!" Nearly tripping on her dress in her hurry, Anna stumbled, turned around and was gone.

Elsa looked longingly after her. Anna's hair had been damp from their walk and Elsa worried for her health, a worry she knew was unnecessary; Anna was on her way to a meal and a warm fireplace, she would be fine.  _She has other people to take care of her, Anna doesn't need you..._  Elsa ignored the thought and knew that she loved Anna nevertheless. She held tight to the gift Anna had given her, something so simple, but that had inspired such a flurry of feelings inside...

The only sounds in the hall were Elsa's sigh and the ticking of the clock. She glanced at it and saw her day's work had ended, it was time to relax, or at least try to.

Elsa had stowed her present safely in her room when she sat down for her own dinner in the guards' hall. The sky outside was dark and starry, but the brightness around the fire drove away any trace of the winter cold.

Marshmallow and Olaf, Elsa's fellow castle guards and closest friends, sat with her at their usual bench in the hall. The two brothers were both flaxen-haired, though most never guessed that Olaf was older than Marshmallow by the size of him, his younger brother was well over six feet tall and towered above everyone.

"Tomorrow's Midwinter! My brother's spending all day playing in the snow, and what do I get? Guard duty," Olaf complained jokingly, everybody knew Olaf loved his job more than any of them.

Marshmallow grinned down at them.

"You're not the only one, Olaf," Elsa said. "I drew the same."

He went on about how much fun the party would be, and even more now Elsa was joining him, and she agreed, yet she did not tell her friend it was her birthday, too; that remained a secret between Anna and herself.

That night, Elsa dreamed about Anna for the first time. She was clothed, but Elsa was naked in front of her, nothing covering her body except for Anna's caresses, nothing on her but Anna's eyes, seeing into her soul.

She woke up sweating to find that while she slept her hand had wandered up under her nightdress and down the front of her underwear. Her heart was pounding, the blankets were warm around her like a lover's embrace and that was all Elsa could think of. She let her hand seek what she needed, her fingertip circling, her mind returning to the day before, to what would have happened if she had kissed Anna and done more yesterday...

Elsa's body responded, shaking her breath with the shiver that carried tingles to her core. Sliding a finger into herself, another, Elsa stroked her soaked centre, guiltily summoning images from her dream, seeking that sweet spot, pressing when she found it, building the sensations.

With a moan, Elsa felt the threshold open, it was up to her to enter, pleasure and images of Anna beckoned, but she did not follow. Elsa realised what she was doing, and it wasn't good. She had to stop and let it fade, both her dreams and the pressure inside. It wasn't right to think about Anna like that, to let herself get so wet, so wound up and aroused.

Her fingers left her sex with a moist sound, and Elsa laid her hand at her side, clenching it into a fist. She squeezed her thighs together and turned over in her bed, trying to take control of her thoughts, urging herself to rest instead. Rest came, but Elsa slept fitfully through the night.

It was still dark when she was called with a knock to begin her duty. The shortest day of the year had arrived, Midwinter, and Elsa's birthday.

She washed and dressed herself routinely, the feeling of excitement her birthday once brought had long faded ever since Elsa had reached adulthood, yet she felt its vestiges again when opening Anna's present.

Elsa had other gifts sent from her friends and family, but Anna's was the only one she opened that morning. It turned out to be a box of chocolates, rich-looking and rich-tasting. She ate one, the heavenly flavour remaining with her until later. Elsa was touched that Anna had done something so nice for her, but could not help wondering the reason why. She didn't want Elsa to leave, that was the explanation Anna had given, despite the fact that Elsa had no intention of leaving and never showed any signs that she would.  _But why?_  Elsa asked herself.  _Maybe..._

No. That was a  _fantasy_. Yet Anna was so nice to her, Elsa couldn't help thinking and wishing that she might feel the same and return her love; a birthday wish, a Midwinter wish... Foolish and far-fetched, yet Elsa wished it anyway.

Even though Anna was married, and the Queen, later that day Elsa started to see, or to think she saw evidence that Anna did not love Kristoff.

The castle was bustling, though Elsa stood still by the door, watching the guests arrive in their finery with a clear mind until she was called into the Great Hall. If she had not drawn duty that night, Elsa would have been in the local tavern with the other guards, and she was equally happy here, happier in Anna's presence.

From the Hall's high windows Elsa saw the snow swirling in flurries, dancing, though not to the rhythm of the music she could hear. Pipes and lutes, violins and drums played seasonal tunes, songs to which everyone knew the words. Elsa watched Olaf tapping his foot to the beat, then turned her eyes to the partygoers.

Heedless of the wind and weather beyond the walls, they danced, and Anna was a ray of beauty and light among them. Her hair and her dress trailed behind, twirling with her movements, and Elsa breathed in the scent of her perfume when she passed by.

The beauty was ruined when she looked closer. Kristoff danced with Anna, and he had clearly not been trained to move with grace, his dancing style was rustic, at odds with Anna's, but they somehow made it work. Both had been drinking, like most of the people in the party, and laughed together whenever they made mistakes.

Elsa liked being one of the only sober people, she could feel the energy all around, yet remained detached from it, and for that, she was glad. She liked to drink occasionally herself, but it made her lose control, and Elsa knew it was more important than anything to keep control, especially now.

Ignoring Anna's scent on the air, Elsa took a deep breath and imagined she was far away, not really here, that what happened next was not real, because Elsa did not want to see or hear.

They stopped under the mistletoe hanging from the chandelier, and Kristoff held Anna in his arms to kiss her. She wrapped herself around him, her hands resting behind his neck, her eyes closed...

Elsa looked away when their kiss deepened, yet she could not block out the sound of Kristoff's words.

"I love you, baby!" he said, earning cries from the crowd in appreciation of the royal couple, and jealousy from Elsa.

That Kristoff was able to love Anna, that he got to say it, hurt Elsa enough, but the  _way_  he showed it was too much. Calling her "baby" was...  _cheap_  and degrading towards the woman Elsa knew to be the loveliest, the most beautiful woman in the world; a  _Queen_ , not some tavern wench.

Elsa looked back at them to find it was not quite so bad after all. The party guests applauded Kristoff and Anna, who stood in the centre of the hall, the centre of attention, but Anna did not say anything back. Instead she just looked at her husband, her expression... awkward, and clearly not reciprocating Kristoff's feelings.

A few people in the crowd were whispering, wondering as Elsa was, though not for her reasons.

Kristoff didn't seem to have noticed and grabbed a drink from a passing tray, holding the glass high. "To my wife, to Anna!" he proposed.

His subjects raised their glasses filled with mead or wine and drank to the health of their Queen with a resounding shout of "Queen Anna!"

She smiled, her arm around Kristoff's waist, his hand resting on her rear.

Elsa gasped at such an open display of his desire and looked away. She would never touch Anna like that in public, she would have danced an elegant waltz with her, earning attention not by kissing or toasts but by treating Anna like the Queen she was... Yet it was not right even to look at them, Elsa reminded herself when she felt her gaze creeping back, never mind to judge them.

Focusing her eyes on a knot in the wood on a pillar opposite where she stood, Elsa tried to forget it all and, not letting the blur of moving guests break her concentration, she retreated into her mind, into the cool blue room inside herself she saved for times of desperation.

Only one sight could bring Elsa back to reality, and that was the sight of Anna standing in front of her, though how long later it was she did not know.

Anna's red hair stood out against the background of the crowd, the human haze that faded, could not compare to the brightness of Anna's being or the fire of Elsa's love for her. And Elsa couldn't help it, her whole body softened from her rigid guard's posture when Anna smiled at her; it was as if everything else just disappeared, worries and frustrations, past and future, all but now and the two of them.

Then she caught herself, the sound of her boot heel scraping on the floor, just for a moment as she shifted her stance, jolted Elsa and it all came back in a rush: they were at a party surrounded by important people, and Anna was the most important of all. The Queen couldn't be seen speaking to a guard on such friendly terms, with such a fond expression on her face. And yet Anna stepped closer.

 _No, don't come and talk to me!_  Elsa told her silently, suddenly overcome by nervousness at the feelings Anna inspired in her. She didn't want to see Anna, or talk to her, something would go wrong, things weren't right already. Anna's husband, her councillors, her friends... they might  _notice_. Elsa and her feelings did not belong. She concealed her smile, she would try her best to be professional when Anna spoke, to keep things under control.

Someone accosted Anna before she crossed the hall, Elsa didn't see who at first but then looked lower and spotted the Duke of Weselton. He seemed set on talking to her, Elsa heard his drawling voice insist, and felt shame for not saving Anna from the annoyance of that odious man's company, yet it was a chance to make things easier for herself...

Anna still stared at her through Elsa's final glance behind, guests congregating in the spaces between, taking up the place left by Elsa as she moved through the crowd and went out of the door, feeling Anna's presence fade only when it shut behind her, and even then Anna would never fade from her mind.

That was not Elsa's world, and it was for Anna's sake she left.

It was easier outside the Hall, quieter, cooler, helping her breath and heartbeat, the speed of time and her thoughts return to normal.

Elsa wondered why she had not thought to guard the hallway in the first place, with Olaf inside the Great Hall, there was less need for her; she would be of more use watching who came in and out of the party, not that there were many people doing so this far into the night. The only people in the corridors were maids occasionally rushing to and fro preparing guest rooms, servants who were Elsa's equals...

Of course, it did not take long for Elsa to admit to herself the real reason she had lingered in the Hall; she knew it well, just as Elsa knew the person opening the door after a few minutes passed would be Anna. Seeing her out here was easier, and her voice was clearer.

"Elsa?"

She smiled, and Elsa could return it now with only the two of them to see. It felt so good, like a breath of fresh air after surfacing from water.

"Happy Midwinter!"

"You too, Your Majesty!" Elsa's smile had opened the door of affection for her, and though it was difficult to contain her joy, she made sure to only show Anna what was appropriate and proper for them; no proximity, no touching. Yesterday had been too much, though she had to show her gratitude for Anna's kindness. "Thank you for the gift. Chocolate is my absolute favourite."

A soft giggle left Anna's lips. "I knew it! You're welcome, Elsa. I... I hope you've had a wonderful birthday." Her fingers had lingered on the door handle the whole time, she tightened them, turning it now to go back into the loudness and light on the other side.

Anna left her with another smile, so sweet it struck Elsa bitterly when she had gone. Her sigh echoed down the empty hall, the only sound until another guard came to take over her watch. Glad she didn't have to speak, or even smile, just nod in recognition, Elsa returned to her bed alone, to eat chocolate and sleep, hopefully not to dream.

Many of her fellow guards were dreaming hung-over dreams in their beds when Elsa was on duty the next day. Luckily the lack of staff seemed to be no problem in the still castle. The whole building had an atmosphere of pained silence, and she first saw the inhabitants emerge well after midday, looking pale.

With them came the captain of the royal guard, who asked Elsa to do overtime and cover for one of her "indisposed" co-workers in her first ever night shift at the castle. The offer was better than the thought of sleeping - another dream of Anna had visited her last night - and Elsa agreed.

It gave her a chance to think. Watching the servants clean up after the festivities prompted Elsa to organise her own mind.

She never seriously thought her feelings for Anna were suspected, let alone returned, but that night Elsa began to doubt, and the cause for her doubt came as unexpectedly as the news she would be taking over from the guard at the royal bedchamber.

Elsa made her way there glad of her gloves and her extra layers. Midwinter nights were the coldest of the year and she felt it tonight, even here inside the castle. There was only one activity which guaranteed warmth and it sounded like Kristoff and Anna were doing just that.

Fear coursed through her body, the sound of their lovemaking scared her, making real what Elsa normally denied; that Anna let him touch her and liked it.

Her first instinct was to run, to go away and forget it ever happened. But duty stopped her feet from fleeing, Elsa could not desert her post. She had to stay, though she told herself she did not have to listen.

Anna's voice carried through the walls and door, giggling, moaning... Elsa took a breath and commanded her brain to think calm, cool, soothing thoughts, to make the sounds wash over her without hearing. She tried to keep control but her mind would not obey. From tiredness and lust it rebelled, showing Elsa images to match the sounds whenever she closed her eyes to blink; images of Anna's face, her expression as it had been in her dreams...

Now Elsa felt no cold at all. Her body rebelled, too, responding to the thoughts and sounds around her. With shaking fingers she undid her coat, her jacket, the top of her shirt, to keep from dissolving in her own heat and let the air get to her throat. She told herself it was all right, everyone was asleep or soon would be, and stay that way through the quiet night in the castle; no one would notice her appearance and Elsa could wait for her shift to end in peace.

A decoration hung on the wall ahead of her, a holly bough with red berries and sharp leaves. Elsa counted every feature to distract herself, and found, to her relief, that it helped. The sounds in the bedroom died down to murmurs, then nothing. She relaxed, feeling her discomfort fade, but not the heat.

A new noise, louder, harsher than the others, made Elsa jump, and her eyes sought its source. Her heart pounding, she saw it had only been the routine sound of a door opening, and Elsa's heart beat loud enough to drown out all thoughts as Anna emerged from inside, clad in a loose bed robe.

Anna closed the door again silently, using both hands to pull it shut, and turned, stopping mid-step when she saw Elsa, and her eyes went wide for a moment, though just for a moment. She came closer and Elsa was frozen by the sight of her beauty.

The wine-coloured robe she wore brought out her blushing cheeks, and Elsa swore the blush had got deeper since Anna noticed her. Folding her arms while she walked, Anna shifted her breasts up and Elsa's eyes moved down to see her cleavage and the new discovery that freckles clustered all over her chest and the tops of her feminine mounds. Elsa looked lower, down to her uncovered legs and bare feet. The only other thing over her body except the robe was her hair hanging loose down to her waist, and Elsa was amazed; how hot Anna's body must be to let her walk through the cold winter castle at night wearing so little...

She stopped in front of Elsa, her hair red-gold in the light, and Anna did what Elsa wanted to, running her hand through the beautiful tresses. Anna's other hand rested on her waist, pressing the fabric to her figure, revealing she was obviously naked underneath.

Elsa's nipples stood to attention, the sign of her arousal wouldn't show from under her uniform, though Elsa felt herself flush, too, which she knew  _would_  show, with her normally pale complexion. She stood straighter and looked away, hoping Anna would merely greet her and walk on, though Fate followed Elsa's hidden hopes; Anna stopped and spoke to her.

"Hello, Elsa." Her voice was sultrier than before, or it may have been Elsa's imagination, yet Anna's tone made Elsa meet her gaze immediately. "This is the first time I've seen you on the night shift. I'm glad you're here." Anna's eyes lowered to her undone uniform, just briefly.

Elsa searched for something to say and what passed her lips was not what she planned. "It's my duty to protect you, Your Majesty." She didn't mention Kristoff, all thoughts of him left Elsa's mind, erased by the sound of her heart beating loud, singing  _Anna, Anna, Anna_  at her closeness.

 _Remember to breathe_ , Elsa told herself, watching Anna's lips lift in a small grin.

"Walk with me," Anna said, linking Elsa's arm with both her hands, gently guiding her to wander along the corridor.

A blush warmed Elsa's cheeks and neck, her breath quickening with the surprise of their contact.

As if sensing Elsa's question, Anna explained her intention, which puzzled Elsa more than anything else.

"I don't want to go far, only to my own room down the hallway."

"You want to sleep alone, Your Majesty?" Elsa couldn't stop the question, the constant eye contact did not help her self-control. Anna kept their gazes locked while she replied.

"Yeah. I won't get lonely, I'll sleep better this way; Kristoff snores." Her eyes grew playful, inspiring the same mood in Elsa.

"If I may be so bold, Your Majesty, so do you. I've heard you when I have guard duty in the mornings." She was finding it difficult to walk and talk and think all at the same time with Anna touching her arm. Elsa could feel the heat of her hands through the fabric, inspiring a matching heat in Elsa's mind.  _She's naked under there, naked and holding my arm!_

Anna's touch tightened as a giggle rose from within her.

 _She has the warmest laugh..._  Elsa couldn't help thinking, deeming it too late to hold back her innermost thoughts.

"Yes, but that's different: I can't hear myself!"

Elsa giggled instead of replying with words, instead of telling Anna how lovely her smile was, and how she wanted to kiss her laughing lips.

Anna tugged on her arm and they halted, having reached the door to the Queen's chambers. The sigh that left Anna's lips was the most adorable sound, for its mystery as well as its sweetness; in that exhalation were feelings Elsa could not discern.

"It's late," Anna said. "Like we're the only two people awake in the world..." Something caught her eye. Elsa watched her gaze focus out the triangle window beside them. "But the sky's awake!"

Elsa looked with her to see the dark sky shimmering with a pale cold fire. The Northern Lights - a beloved and familiar sight for her - lit up the night in shifting shades of blue and green, even reaching faintest shades of pink as they flowed and danced above Arendelle. Yet their beauty was eclipsed by the woman she was with. Elsa's eyes wandered back to the wonders of Anna; greens and blues in her eyes, pinks in her cheeks, the colour there deepening again.

"Beautiful..." Elsa left it up to Anna to decide what she meant.

The redhead smiled wider, holding the grin longer than she had before.

 _I wish I knew what you were thinking_ , Elsa said to her silently.  _I wish I had the right to ask..._

"Goodnight." Anna squeezed her arm, the touch lingering until she took hold of the door handle instead, ready to go inside and leave Elsa alone for the night.

"Goodnight, Your Majesty." Elsa bowed low, managing to turn elegantly as she rose, and walked away. She reached around halfway down the hall, the sound of her boots the only noise disturbing the silent night, when Elsa realised she had not heard Anna shut her door. The urge to look back overcame her, and Elsa was glad she gave in to it because she saw Anna's head peeking out of the doorway.

Her lowered eyelids and rapt expression told Elsa all she needed to know, but still she could not believe it. Had Anna really been watching her...?

She didn't have time to tell, after giving a little wave of her fingers, Anna quickly disappeared inside like she had been caught, leaving Elsa to blush in confusion, while her stomach fluttered. The desire Elsa saw in Anna's expression for that split second had been more stunning and sensual than anything her mind could summon.

To preserve the memory of that moment, Elsa remained standing there, moving only when she realised she had stayed for too long in that spot, and when she admitted to herself that she had probably been mistaken, Anna meant nothing by just watching her.

Staying in the hall, as her duty required, Elsa stationed herself in between both bedrooms opposite another window, with the same view out into the night that she and Anna had gazed at together.

High in the sky, above the city and the mountains and the fjord, the Northern Lights still flickered. Like old friends they seemed to Elsa then, and she expressed her thoughts to them as though they could hear.

 _If Anna loved Kristoff, she'd want to spend all night in his arms.._. That final thought made Elsa feel a little happier, allowing her to continue her night's watch with a lighter heart.

The small hours passed by, and with them went the setting moon, almost full when it showed itself from behind the clouds now gathering, doubtlessly bringing more snow to cover the land. Frost appeared on the edges of the window, so gradually Elsa did not notice until the sounds of the castle waking up made her mind more alert again.

All her guard training meant that Elsa had not once stopped watching, waiting and listening for threats, and now she was thoroughly weary. Yawns that she could not stifle escaped from Elsa's lips, and she felt numb with tiredness by the time Olaf took over for the morning watch. Elsa always loved Olaf's cheerful demeanour, but today he seemed  _too_  happy, yet despite the many reasons she had to feel sad, she still returned his smile. The grin remained on Elsa's face when she walked past Anna's door and heard soft snores from inside.

She ate with the guards getting ready to begin their shift in the dark morning. The food gave Elsa enough energy to change her clothes and clamber into bed, but not to rest.

Elsa's thoughts drifted to Anna as inevitably as rivers flow into the ocean. Her night of strangeness had sparked a confusion of feelings, most of them identifiable. Elsa was tired, and desire plagued her, she didn't know how to cope with the ache between her legs, and no matter how she lay, she felt it.

The morning did not help. Elsa was a morning person, she loved to see the dawn and greet the day. Her body told her she should be awake, giving her not a wink of sleep, and her mind was no better. It replayed to her the sweetness of Anna's laugh, the warmth of her hands. Elsa could only imagine what it would be like to pull off Anna's robe and caress the smooth freckled skin underneath, run her fingers through those long red tresses and drown in the sea of her eyes.

Elsa wondered how that head of red hair would look settled between her legs, Anna's lips wet and smiling, those eyes looking right into her own, her pink tongue extending...

"Stop!" Elsa said aloud. "She's not yours... She's not..." With tears in her eyes, Elsa knew she had gone too far. She buried her face in the pillow to stop her crying and dry her tears, emerging moments later with her face flushed, catching her breath.

She could see light seeping through the closed curtains now, and hear other guards going about their day. Elsa knew she was due to start the night shift again in a few hours and she  _had_  to get some sleep. But there was only one sure way to wear herself out enough to force her body to rest.

Seeing no other choice, Elsa surrendered her body and her conscience to desire. Softer than snowflakes, she stroked her fingertips over her body, giving herself what she needed. Elsa's hand moved under her nightgown, tracing lightly over her hipbones, her stomach. She made her nipples stiffen with teasing caresses, and a shiver shot down her spine. Elsa shifted on the bed, thinking of Anna, her lips, her breasts, her freckles.

Her hand went down again, summoned by Elsa's aching urgency, down until she felt the hair of her womanhood on her fingertips. It was so good to finally let herself do this, and her hand worked at the wetness between her legs, rubbing the bud within her folds. Elsa thought of Anna all the time, that look she had glimpsed... Elsa imagined her wearing only that look and doing the same as herself, Anna's slim fingers caressing the soaked, secret flesh in her copper curls.

Elsa's breaths came fast, panting and desperate, she grasped a breast with her free hand, pinching, stroking the nipple. She soon moved her hand to her mouth, trying to contain her moans, and Elsa managed to do so for a while, until her movements got faster, the rhythm of her breath even quicker. Elsa bit down on her fingers when she convulsed in pleasure; she didn't feel the pain, yet it did not stop the sound she made. Her cry of "Anna!" echoed around the empty room, and Elsa didn't care if her neighbours heard; she lay in the embrace of elation and thoughts of Anna until sleep finally took her.

Something much stranger than the look Anna gave her that night happened the night after that.

Elsa started her duty rested, fed and feeling rejuvenated, her high mood helped by the easy task of guarding Kristoff in his study.

He was not a sociable person, and seemed to sense the same sentiment in Elsa, sharing his feelings with her on many things, and finding they agreed on all sorts of subjects.

The King was supposed to be doing paperwork, but, as he often did, he had found a way to procrastinate. He set down his glass of liquor after taking a swallow. "You know, I used to be a servant in this castle, before I ever knew the King was my father. I ran away after a while, though, then lived a free life..." His face brightened with the memory.

"It must have taken a long time to get used to life as King, Your Majesty," Elsa commented.

Kristoff laughed dryly. "It took ages getting used to regular meals, I admit," he said. "It's like heaven here, I can have whatever I want, whenever I want! Before, food wasn't always so easy to come by. I made my living as an ice harvester, and there's not so much to eat when you're up in the mountains all day. I never would've dreamed I'd have any of this back then!"

Elsa never would have dreamed it either, that someone with Kristoff's background could become King. She was reminded of the Lord of Misrule, a tradition from long ago in which everything was suspended for the festive season while a servant took over the castle.

He took a drink again - the alcohol made him more talkative, Elsa knew - and continued. "To tell you the truth, I miss ice harvesting, that life was so much simpler. I'm not meant to be a King, stuck inside all day doing... this." He gestured at the pile of paperwork in front of him. "But meeting Anna, marrying Anna... She's the best thing that's ever happened to me. Do you want to know how we ended up together?"

"Sure..." Flustered, Elsa forgot her courtesies.

"Well, our marriage wasn't exactly arranged, more... encouraged. Her family's got a lot of money, they have for generations, and they wanted to give her a match she deserved, so they chose me!" He laughed, a quick, short burst before he spoke again. "Maybe I'm better than some people born and bred to be royalty, though. Did you know Anna was once engaged to a prince who jilted her and broke her heart?"

"No, I... She never told me about that." Elsa was angered, saddened and filled with more love for Anna than ever before to discover she had known such treatment.

"I'm glad, though, otherwise we never would've met! Anna's too good for me, I know. But she needs protecting, she needs to be around people who care about her and see how beautiful she is."

This wasn't the first time Elsa had heard Kristoff's praises of his wife, she prepared to listen, switching off most of her conscious mind except to agree vaguely with his words when he required an answer.

"She's the most beautiful woman in the world! That anyone could treat such beauty like Hans did..." Kristoff clenched his fist. "The man can't have been human, I swear. Anna's beautiful, like a goddess! You must be able to appreciate how perfect she is, Elsa."

It was the first time she had heard anything like  _this_ , the first time Kristoff had ever broached the issue of how  _she_  felt about Anna. Elsa froze. Did he know? He was looking right at her as if he was sharing her secret. She braced herself and opened her mouth to utter some lie and change the subject.

Kristoff smiled warmly. "Is there a special woman in your life?" he asked, with genuine interest.

"No, unfortunately," Elsa replied automatically, relieved to be steering the conversation away from Anna. Then she realised she had never told Kristoff about her preference for women. "Wait, how do you...? I - "

"How do I know you like women? Come on, Elsa, it's obvious! If you were interested in men you wouldn't be here, you'd be married with children by now; you're a good-looking woman, you could have any man you wanted, so you must not want any men." He drained his glass, giving Elsa time to think of a reply.

She did not keep her inclinations a secret, but it was good to share something personal with a friend. "Yes, Your Majesty. I've always only been interested in women."

"It must be difficult sometimes," Kristoff said, with a sensitivity that surprised her.

"It's not, nobody's cruel to me because of it. Not anymore. I learned long ago that being honest about oneself and with oneself is best." Elsa just hoped she wouldn't be compelled to be honest about her love for Anna.

"Well, if you ever have any trouble, let me know."

Kristoff's kindness brought a smile to her face, and Elsa regretted that she didn't like him more. If things were different, if he did not get in the way between her and Anna, perhaps she could. "Thanks, Your Majesty," she said.

"We're friends, Elsa!" he replied, still smiling. "If I wasn't the King I'd go and drink with you at the guards' tavern in town. I went there once, it was a great place... It wouldn't be right for me to go there now, though... But anyway!" He brightened up. "I have all the drink and company I need right here in the castle!" Kristoff stood and poured himself more liquor.

He talked more with Elsa and forced himself to read and sign some of the documents on his desk until he took himself to bed. Elsa didn't follow. She knew Marshmallow was guarding the upper castle that night, and he would make sure the King was safely asleep.

Elsa went to bed herself, a little earlier than she was supposed to, but her body and mind needed the rest. She had not seen Anna at all that night, and Elsa missed her, yet because of that absence, that rest from her swirling emotions, she slept soundly.

The next night was stranger still, though it started normally enough. Elsa spent the evening at the castle door, realising that she had not seen the sun for two whole days while she had been working night shifts. She watched the stars through the fog of her breath, listening to a conversation between two servants as they shovelled the day's snow away.

Gerda, the royal housekeeper, startled her from her thoughts with a touch of her hand on her shoulder. "Elsa? The Queen wants to see you. She's in her chamber."

"Oh!" Elsa hadn't expected such a summons and hoped her joy did not show too obviously in her expression. "I'd better not keep Her Majesty waiting." Elsa did not even stop to thank the old woman and rushed down the halls and up the stairs towards Anna, as fast as the winter wind, assisted by the beat of her speeding heart.

Elsa took a breath and raised her fist, shaking with the knowledge that Anna was just behind the door, waiting for her, wanting her, but for what? Elsa would discover soon, she hoped she wouldn't be disappointed, Elsa  _knew_  she wouldn't be; Anna could never disappoint her.

She knocked and could hear the excitement in Anna's voice, seconds later.

"Come in!"

Elsa's hand did not shiver when she grasped the handle and pushed open the door, revealing Anna dressed in a fancy pink gown, fixing her hair at the mirror. Her reflection met Elsa's eyes and a wide smile curved her lips.

"Elsa! I hope you weren't busy," said Anna. "And that you don't mind me asking you here like this. It's just..." Her fingers fiddled with themselves instead of her hair. "I didn't see you yesterday and I missed your company." Satisfied with herself, Anna spun around in a quick movement that brought her to Elsa's side and linked their arms for the third time that week; Anna's arm felt like it belonged there, her touch so warm and comforting, even between their layers of clothes. "Will you walk me to the dining room?"

"Of course! It would be my pleasure, Your Majesty." Elsa hoped she hadn't gone too far and that Anna did not guess from her smile and her blush how much pleasure Elsa really received from their contact.

"Great!" The comfortable pressure of Anna's touch increased as she pulled them closer. Elsa had to concentrate on every step she made, every movement it took to lead Anna out of the door and down the corridor; it was like Anna's closeness gave her an energy, a power she never had alone or with others. Elsa teased herself by thinking, from Anna's next words, that she felt the same.

"I  _could_  walk by myself, but... nobody wants to be alone. Maybe we can make this a regular thing and walk together every night."

Elsa wanted to reply and tell her how much she'd love to, how she would count down the hours every day until they met, but with their faces so close and Anna's eyes looking right into her own, she could only grin.

Anna's grin got wider. "You're still my favourite guard, Elsa. Remember when we walked in the snow the other day?"

Elsa nodded and let Anna talk, taking her back to that time. Being with her now made Elsa feel so much  _better_  about everything, and she knew it was that way Anna had of always making her smile, of making her focus on the goodness in the world and life's little pleasures.

Anna was so nice to her, and Elsa did her very best to be nice to her in return, though her niceness was not innocent. She remembered what happened after the last time she and Anna walked together like this, what Elsa needed to do to stop that ache... What would Anna think if she knew Elsa touched herself and wanted to touch her with such passion?

Conscious of herself and the impropriety of everything between herself and Anna, Elsa stiffened. Their conversation drifted to a halt, but they had arrived at Anna's destination. Her cold demeanour quickly melted when Anna said goodbye; she was so sweet and friendly, as if they had known each other forever. Yet they were not friends, Elsa told herself, they were just a kind, good, beautiful Queen and her guard. She left Anna to enjoy dinner with her real friends, the Prince and Princess of Corona who, Elsa learned from Anna, had visited for the Midwinter party and were returning home tomorrow.

Elsa saw the couple leave later when she was guarding the castle entrance again. Clearly not used to Arendelle's winter, they and their guards wore thick cloaks, and as they passed her, Elsa heard the Prince and Princess chatting about what a good hostess Anna was. She recognised then how proud she felt to know Anna, proud that Anna wanted to include someone like her in her life. Elsa decided to look forward to their next meeting, telling herself to simply appreciate spending time with Anna in whatever way Fate let her.

The time came for the other part of her routine and Elsa made her way through the castle to take over guarding the King in his study, though as it had yesterday, their time soon turned into a merry conversation. Kristoff was plainly not in the mood for work, despite the pile of documents on his desk, even bigger than the one last night. He had been drinking with Sven that evening, and talked and joked with Elsa like they were in a tavern.

A knock on the door interrupted their laughter. Kristoff got up from his seat, promptly causing the pile of papers to fly from their place on the desk to the floor.

"Are you sure you got this?" Elsa asked, seeing him sigh and sit down again instead of risking treading on the papers. "You're not too drunk, too tired? I can tell whoever it is to come back tomorrow."

"No, I'm sure," he said, so she opened the door.

It was just Kai, the royal butler, come to remind Kristoff about a meeting he had tomorrow. Elsa picked up the dispersed documents while they spoke.

"You're a good friend, Elsa," said Kristoff when Kai had gone and the study was in order again. "You deserve a good woman to look after you."

It seemed they were about to continue the conversation that had begun the night before, Elsa hoped that wasn't going to become part of her routine, too. "Thanks," she said, and gave a half-hearted smile before standing back in her place by the door.

"I'm lucky to have Anna; she's beautiful and loving and funny..."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I agree."  _More than you'll ever know_. Her audible reply came out stilted in Elsa's effort not to show her real feelings.

Kristoff must have noticed, and narrowed his eyes at her. Elsa always thought he was probably smarter than he looked and prepared to have her secret love for Anna discovered.

"You don't believe me about Anna, do you?" Evidently he wasn't as smart as she thought and the relief she felt made Elsa falter.

"No. Yes!" She knew she was making it worse, but Elsa just wanted to stop talking about Anna.

"Then I'll find a way to prove she's the most beautiful woman in the world..."

In the next few seconds of silence, Elsa didn't know what to say; it was all too surreal. And it was about to get even more so.

"Everyone believes their eyes better than their ears," Kristoff said. "So you can't believe me unless you  _really_  see Anna. You have to see her naked!"

For the first time in their friendship, Elsa felt a hint of uncomfortableness. "No, no, no!" she said, shaking her head, dismissing his suggestion and her own unwanted thoughts.

"Come on, it'd be easy for you. Guards can go anywhere in the castle, you can find Anna when she's bathing or changing and 'accidentally' walk in, just for long enough to get a glimpse, and you'll see I'm not lying about her."

Elsa knew only too well how easy that would be and concealed the desires to do so too often. She had stood on guard outside Anna's bathroom or bedroom door sweating, melting in the heat of her own arousal many times. But Elsa resisted the temptation then as she did now. "No!" she said firmly, looking Kristoff in the eye. "I couldn't dishonour Her Majesty like that, by seeing her... I don't need proof and I believe you, she's... the loveliest woman ever. Please don't ask me to spy on her, she's not mine to see. And it's my duty to protect the Queen's privacy, don't make me go against that."

"I insist!" Kristoff still smiled, as if he could read the desires hidden behind her duty.

 _No one should suggest something like this about somebody they love_ , Elsa thought while she looked at him. "Your Majesty, you're drunk. You'll regret this when you're sober and then be angry with me."

"You're sensible," he replied. "Too sensible. Lighten up! There must be an easy way..."

"No, I - "

"It's no wonder you're single if you're so frigid about this sort of thing, Elsa."

Kristoff did not say it unkindly, but his remark shut her up.

"And I'm not drunk," he continued. "I've only had a few ales." He took his chin in his hand, stroking his stubble while he thought. "The best way for you to see Anna... is for you to hide in the bedroom!"

"I'm sorry, I'm confused. Your Majesty, with respect, I don't want to go into your bedroom."

"Not like that," Kristoff clarified, he looked annoyed by her suspicion. "Don't worry, you'll only be there to look at  _her_. You can hide somewhere so that Anna will never know she's been seen by anyone except me."

Elsa relaxed, warming to the idea despite herself. She watched Kristoff think some more, showing her there was more to him that met the eye; he knew his wife well.

"Anna has the same routine before she goes to bed every night. She takes off her clothes and puts them on a chair. If you're there at the right time and stand in the space beside the door, you'll be able to see her and she won't see you."

He was speaking about his plan as if Elsa had already agreed.

"It'll be easiest if I leave the door open when we both go to bed, you can sneak in and watch her, then go after she's finished. Just be careful when you leave so you don't make a sound. What do you think? You won't regret it!"

He looked so pleased, though not for a good reason at all. "No," Elsa answered automatically, yet she admitted her mental defences were faltering and temptation was taking hold; part of her argued that what Kristoff suggested just made sense.

"Don't worry, I'm not testing you," Kristoff said, every word assuring her. "There's nothing to be afraid of, either from me or Anna. She won't ever know. Hey, even if she does find out - which she won't - Anna likes you, she won't mind!"

Elsa's conscience lightened. That was true, Anna  _did_  like her... So maybe...

"I just want you to see I'm not drunk or stupid, I'm telling the truth about Anna; she really is beautiful."

Kristoff's reasoning and his smile of pure friendship convinced Elsa; she could safely discover what she had wondered about for months, and with no consequences. Elsa sighed, exhaling the last traces of hesitation. "Fine. I'll do it. Tomorrow night, when you've both gone to bed, I'll be there. Goodnight, Your Majesty." She left, disappointed in herself for agreeing and in Kristoff for asking. Elsa couldn't stay in the room with him any longer, and knew that a walk in the cold night air would clear her thoughts.

Elsa had tried to refuse, her conscience should be at ease, it was  _Kristoff's_  idea. Yet Elsa knew her own desire had won, her own lust for Anna. It seemed destined, the way everything fitted together, and she couldn't oppose Fate itself, which seemed to be striving to bring Elsa nearer to Anna. At least Kristoff did not guess her true feelings; Elsa's love for Anna still remained her own secret.

The knowledge, the reassurance she had did not stop Elsa hating herself for looking forward to seeing Anna naked. The following evening, her otherwise calm guard duty was filled with troubled thoughts. Even the routine of escorting Anna to dinner brought no peace. Elsa couldn't look at her, but her words made up for it, she talked more to stop any awkward silence before it began, and Anna seemed happier than ever.

"I really enjoy our time together every day, Elsa," she said, tugging her arm to make her stop outside the dining room door.

"So do I, Your Majesty." Elsa finally looked at her. Her eyes wandered all over Anna's body, wondering what tonight would reveal. Elsa raised them up, passing over perfect hips, waist, breasts, lips, to see Anna's own eyes focused on her face.

 _What is she thinking?_  Elsa asked silently to herself, to any power that would help her understand.

Anna hadn't let go of her arm. She shuffled her feet to face Elsa, standing so close their breasts almost touched.

"Well..."

Despite the blush that blossomed in Elsa's cheeks, the silence that came with it was not awkward. Instead it seemed full of waiting, wanting... Or that might have just been Elsa's wishful thinking.

Gerda's kind, motherly voice sounded from the other side of the door. "Queen Anna, your meal's getting cold!"

"Oh!" Anna exclaimed, jumping a little in sweet surprise and dropping Elsa's arm. "I'll see you tomorrow, Elsa." She disappeared inside, leaving Elsa alone.

 _I'll see you tonight_ , she thought secretly after Anna had gone.  _Only you won't know..._

Walking through the halls to return to her duty on the castle door, Elsa's footsteps echoed from floor to ceiling as the thoughts echoed in her mind, constantly returning to Anna.

Half of her quivered with excitement, half with shame and fear. Would life be the same for Elsa when she had seen the body as well as the face she found so fair? What would she do if afterwards she couldn't conceal her passion for Anna, as Elsa had done all this time? Would she confess in front of the court of Arendelle, make a ridiculous spectacle of her insane love, make herself an outcast forever?

Elsa did not know, had no hint of the answers to her troubled questions. The stars in the dark sky twinkled like they knew and kept countless secrets of their own, and under their light she remained until the changing of the guard, relieving Elsa of her duty for the day, though providing no relief for her mind. The event that awaited her later that night gave Elsa more concern than all her years of service as a guard had ever done.

She went to her room, not remaining long. There was no time to change, and her uniform would be useful if something went wrong and she got caught.

 _You won't get caught_ , she thought, meeting her eyes in the mirror. Elsa took off her hat and left it on its stand; wearing it would be too hot, too conspicuous.

She smoothed strands of sweat-dampened hair away from her brow and took a deep breath. "I can't believe I'm doing this," Elsa murmured, and stopped delaying, leaving the guards' tower again and returning to the castle.

Elsa rushed upstairs to the quiet floor above the Queen and King's rooms, pacing in the empty hall. The space and her nervous habit gave her a chance to think while keeping close to the room below, able to hear through the old wood and stone of the castle when its rulers would retire to bed.

She thought through everything that had led to this and Elsa could not avoid noticing the strange train of coincidences which seemed to always bring her and Anna together... Out of all the Kings in all the lands, Anna had chosen to marry Kristoff, the very monarch Elsa worked for, and by some chance that Elsa could only see as fateful, this King and his wife were both more friendly towards her than they should be...

Was she being led, guided by the gods and goddesses towards a destiny she did not understand and never would have suspected? Such were the questions Elsa asked herself, but lacking the gift of foresight, she resolved to await the course of events.

That secret love, lying hidden for so long in the depths of Elsa's heart, had risen higher, lured by some fitful glimmer of hope. The weight of its impossibility no longer pressed so heavily upon Elsa's soul, now that she believed herself aided by the Higher Powers.

Elsa stopped pacing and settled by the castle stairwell. Sitting on the top step, she interwove her gloved fingers and waited some more, recognising how scandalous it all was.

Her situation was certainly an extraordinary one. Elsa had loved Anna as one loves a star, from afar, admiring beauty belonging to another world. Convinced of the hopelessness of her passion, Elsa had made no effort to approach her. And, nevertheless, Anna had come to her as a close friend, showed her affection... And now, by a succession of events so strangely perfect Elsa could never have planned them herself, she was about to obtain a knowledge of treasures reserved for Anna's husband alone.

To love a woman in secret and find oneself led by her husband to view her at her most private activities... Led by the man who should defend her like a dragon guards its jewels... Such a fact was enough to suspect it had all been pre-ordained just for Elsa...

In the middle of these reflections, she suddenly heard the sound of the clock striking midnight. The time had come.

Footsteps and voices arose from below, the sounds of the King and Queen going to bed. Elsa felt her heart beat faster and waited as long as she could, then went down into the hall, her footsteps light on the rug.

The door was open, as Kristoff had said it would be.

When she saw it, Elsa knew she could no longer retreat from her desires. She was a young woman, after all, with a woman's needs; Elsa forgot every worry and consideration, no longer thinking of anything except the pleasure she was about to have feasting her eyes on the beautiful form that Fate had offered her.

It was open just enough for her to slide her slender figure through, and when she had, Elsa was inside the room, the realisation striking her like a shot through the heart that it was really happening.

The chamber was large, befitting royalty, and no trace of her presence had carried across its space to the inhabitants. Her heart beat loud, louder than the sound of her footsteps as Elsa tiptoed into the darkness beside the doorway. Trying desperately to keep her breathing steady, and with her whole body trembling, Elsa took in the sight in front of her.

In the huge bed, she could see Kristoff, clad in a robe and covered in a blanket. He hadn't seen her, he was too busy watching Anna.

Exactly as he had told her, Anna stood by a chair, with her back to her observers, preparing to undress.

Elsa's cheeks burned, she felt like she was going to faint at any second and had to lean against the wall, further into the shadows, aware that she hid in the best place possible to lose nothing of the scene to which she would be an invisible witness, and aware she would remain undetected.

Anna hummed to herself, she kicked off her shoes and reached behind her back to unlace her bodice, taking it off while the eyes of two others were on her; the three people in that room seemed wrapped in a strange and potent spell and, mesmerised, Elsa watched Anna's fingers free her body of her dress and display her arms, soft and freckled.

She removed her clothes one by one, increasing the heat in Elsa's body with every garment she draped over the back of the chair, and Elsa stared at Anna with parted lips, almost unblinking.

Anna pulled her underskirt up and over her head, exposing her shoulders, letting Elsa look freely at their freckles and their perfect form for as long as she wished, longer than the single glimpse she had stolen so long ago.

Her chemise was the next item to leave Anna's body, showing Elsa her naked back beneath. The shape of her waist and hips made Elsa shiver to look upon their perfection, and her eyes followed the sensual line of her spine down to the dimples on the lowest part of her back. Elsa had never seen anything so sensuous as those little indentations of natural beauty in Anna's flesh, and her eyes lingered there.

Anna's fingers rested near them and hooked into her underwear, pulling her final item of clothing down to reveal her behind, the round flesh naturally toned and utterly flawless.

She passed the garment over each slender leg and, like the statue of a goddess unveiled on the day of a temple's inauguration, Anna stood naked in full view of Elsa. She was completely at ease in her natural state of nudity, holding her body in a way she never did when clothed, a way that Elsa was most thankful to have seen; Anna unrestricted and free. No longer humming her mysterious tune, the red-haired Queen sighed and stretched.

Elsa thought her legs would give way, Anna's beauty struck her in the heart and made her weaken. She pressed a hand to her chest and could feel her heartbeat through every layer she wore.

With her own clothes arranged on the chair, Anna rested her knee upon it, too, in a pose of nonchalance, holding still for a moment which, if captured, would be the finest painting in the whole world. Elsa watched the movement of her muscles under her skin in the flickering candlelight while Anna raised her arm to remove the pin from her tresses and shook out the red waves of her hair. It flowed over her shoulders and back, more spectacular than the red light of dawn rippling over the fjord. Anna stood again and turned around.

Elsa's heart hammered so fiercely she thought she would die where she stood concealed. But to die now would be to die content... Her heart did not falter, racing though it was.

Anna stood motionless and time seemed to slow, allowing Elsa's eyes to caress every part of her. Against the dark red drapery of the bedchamber, Anna's flesh looked pale, highlighting every feature. Elsa gazed at her face, more beautiful now it was complemented by her nakedness, and she stared like she was seeing Anna for the first time; the loveliness of her eyes and nose, her freckled cheeks and her lips, the bottom one tucked under in that habit she had, as if Anna's mouth was trying to kiss itself.

Elsa savoured the secret sight of Anna's uncovered body; her breasts were perfectly formed and freckled, her nipples and the pink skin around them looked so soft... Anna had a slender waist and a smooth stomach, her hips curved in the most lovely way imaginable, framing the ginger hair between her thighs that hid secrets Elsa knew she would not see this night. She looked lower still at Anna's shapely legs and her small, delicate feet.

She was more beautiful than Elsa could have dreamed. But "beautiful" was not enough, Anna was magnificent, exquisite... No word did justice to the ecstasy Anna inspired in Elsa, and the swirling sensation she caused down inside her, the throbbing in Elsa's core.

All other thoughts disappeared from Elsa's soul, all thoughts about the consequences of what she was doing and the boundaries between her and the woman she adored; the universe seemed to Elsa only a vague mist in the midst of which shone the bright vision of Anna. Here stood the loveliest of women, naked for Elsa...

But not for her! Reality intruded, and with it a feeling on the edge of Elsa's senses; she feared suddenly that Anna could see her, yet knew she couldn't.

It was too much. Elsa had seen what she wanted and was told to. She turned to leave, not a noise arising from her movements, and shut the door behind her, painfully slowly. Elsa thanked the powers above that it did not creak or even click when it closed.

The cold night and her bed beckoned Elsa, and she moved like a sleepwalker through the castle. The halls were dark, but Anna's form shone in her mind's eye whenever she blinked; the pale beauty of her body stayed in Elsa's vision, stronger and more perfect than a marble sculpture. Elsa endeavoured - uselessly - to erase it, because the love she felt for Anna inspired her with a secret terror, its power was so mighty.

Trembling and distracted with passion, though accustomed to the winding stairs and corridors of the castle, Elsa had no difficulty finding her way out. She passed through the building as if pursued and, making herself known to Olaf and Marshmallow who guarded the entrance, had the door opened for her and entered the courtyard beyond.

Her brain burned, her cheeks flamed as if with the fires of fever, and her breath came hotly, panting through her lips. Somehow Elsa made it to the guards' tower and her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. She flung herself down on the bed and stayed there for a long time, though how long she did not know.

Elsa realised she had been crying when the pillow was wet to her touch. Throwing off her uniform, she dragged herself to the small basin in the corner of her room and plunged her hands into the cold water, bathing her face, drinking several mouthfuls with the hope of cooling the ardour that devoured her.

Weary in mind and body, Elsa lay unclothed in the bed. There had been no one to see  _her_  undress... Under the blanket, she rubbed her smooth, naked limbs together, trying to get comfortable, though no rest came. She felt that never in all her life could she banish the image of Anna from her vision. Elsa's love had grown into a vastness that shocked her; its flower had suddenly bloomed like a plant that opens its blossom to the sun. Her love for Anna possessed a power deep within her, stirring her soul with a force as ancient and primal as that which controls the sun, the moon and the sky; to master her passion was a thing impossible, Elsa could only give in.

She wanted to reach out and touch Anna, she wanted to bury her head in Anna's lap and cover every inch of her skin with kisses. But Elsa could only touch Anna's perfect body with her mind.

Substituting her own breasts for Anna's, Elsa cupped and squeezed the yielding flesh, pinching, pulling at her nipples until she moaned. In place of Anna's, Elsa stroked her own hair, her own wetness. She spread her legs and threw the covers off, her secret wet heat met the night air, sending tingles through Elsa's entire body.

She rubbed herself tenderly, fingertips caressing every fold, every sweet spot she knew, and covering her fingers in her essence. Elsa imagined Anna's voice, Anna's face in front of her, freckled, flushed and smiling. She stroked faster, drawing out her moans, not caring how loud they grew because every one of them brought her closer to the release that Elsa craved, that would erase everything but pleasure from her life for a few sweet minutes. Her back arched as the climax took hold, made her body tighten and tremble all over. Elsa collapsed onto her bed, the sweat that covered her cooling her body already.

When her panting subsided, Elsa spoke aloud to the night, her voice a ragged whisper. "If the gods and goddesses had given me a gift as precious as Anna, I would have known to keep her to myself, I would have known..."

The next day was Elsa's first back on day shifts again, a return to normal, but could her life ever really be normal now? While she dressed and ate and travelled to where she was meant to be, it certainly didn't feel like it.

Kristoff found her in the morning when she stood on guard outside the council chamber. Whether he was going to or from a meeting, Elsa neither knew nor cared.

She was jealous of him,  _he_  got to touch Anna as well as look; that fact was sinking in for Elsa now. Having convinced her to see the Queen undressing seemed to Elsa an ironic act of cruelty, like Kristoff wanted to torture her with what he had and she did not.

Elsa did not remember then that Kristoff - and everyone else, as far as she knew - had no idea about her love for Anna; the King had sought only her friendship, someone to share and understand why he loved his wife. Something which she ought to have regarded as a great favour and privilege affected Elsa like an injury. Yet she was not angry with him, just sad and envious.

Kristoff kept his voice low, maintaining the secret between them. "So, now you've seen the truth do you believe me?"

Elsa blushed with the memory of Anna, suddenly vivid in her mind again. She managed to summon a reply, disguising how deeply it had affected her. "I believe you. Last night... it was like I dreamed with open eyes. The Queen really is the most beautiful woman in the world. You're very lucky, Your Majesty."

"I knew even your iciness would melt in the fires of her beauty." He grinned. "And now you know how precious she is, so make sure to protect her. Oh, and don't tell anyone about this or Anna might not be as nice as she is beautiful!"

"Of course, Your Majesty." Telling the King what he wanted to hear had worked, and Elsa trusted he would forget about the whole business soon enough, unlike herself. Still, it had not been as awkward as Elsa feared. They shared a smile, and Elsa thought he seemed almost like a brother, in a strange way. After he left, she sighed, exasperated that a man such as him could be blessed with Anna...

Councillors filled the hall, coming from and going to the chamber, and in the rush, watching people getting on with their lives, Elsa felt almost normal for a while.

Olaf put a stop to that when he came to speak to her.

"Queen Anna sent me, Elsa. She said she wants to see you in her parlour right away."

As Elsa knew it would, her heart thumped loud and fast, spreading heat and thoughts of Anna all around her being, thoughts and memories.

"Well, go! She's waiting!"

Elsa realised she had not moved, and jumped when he spoke again. "Y-yes... Thanks, Olaf!" She didn't look back or hear the words he called after her, practically running to Anna.

It was earlier than Anna usually wanted to meet, but Elsa thought nothing of the routine request, no suspicion at least, though she was nervous about how she herself would react to Anna's presence now she knew the true extent of her beauty.

Again - Elsa thanked the Divines - it was not as awkward as she expected. Anna stood up from her seat, smoothed the front of her dress and walked towards Elsa, smiling.

Elsa took off her hat out of respect and to help with the heat increasing in her body with every heartbeat; she brushed her thumb over the little red feather nervously, glad she could still summon the sense not to stare at the shape of Anna's figure underneath her clothes, and had the ability to speak. "Your Majesty, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, Elsa, I did." Anna halted in front of her and reached out her arm.

Elsa wondered what for until she heard the click of the lock, and stared at the Queen in confusion.

"I wanted to see you again, just like you wanted to see me last night, in my room." Her gaze was the cool blue colour of the sea before a storm. "You're guilty, Elsa. I saw  _you_ , too."

Elsa's heart skipped a beat. She stood astonished, as she had been by Anna's naked beauty. "How? When?" she managed to whisper.

"When you left," Anna replied. "It was your blonde hair; I would recognise its colour anywhere..." She brought her hand up and almost touched the strands she spoke of.

Elsa stepped back, bumping into the wall. Anna had  _never_  behaved like this, her eyes... They were... penetrating. She felt a cold sweat bead on her brow and swallowed her nervousness.

For a time, Elsa was too stunned to speak, by Anna's proximity, Anna's beauty, the shame of what she had done. At last she found words to explain herself. "Forgive me, Your Majesty. Please. I... It wasn't my idea to... intrude on you. King Kristoff ordered me to be there... at that time, so I'd believe his descriptions of how beautiful you are."

"I see..." Anna's eyes had widened for a moment at the mention of her husband, though she said and did nothing else.

Silence descended. Elsa couldn't read her expression, couldn't tell if Anna believed her, and she let her heart's testimony assist. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but you are beautiful. I knew it already, but to see you... like that, I never could have imagined... You're the most beautiful woman I've ever beheld."

"I am?" Anna asked, suddenly coy, a little blush glowing in her cheeks.

"Yes," Elsa said with complete conviction, her words coming easily with her honesty. "The King only did it because he wanted me to appreciate you. And because he loves you."

"He doesn't." Anna's coyness had gone, her blush now one of anger. "People in love don't invite another person to see something so private, that's a betrayal. But I believe you. There's no other way you could have got inside the room unless he didn't lock it like he always does."

A sudden fear possessed Elsa then that everything was ruined; she would lose her job, her friends, the chance to see Anna again... Elsa fought the urge to break down and cry, to cling to Anna and beg her for forgiveness.

"And it's not so bad," said Anna. Her words were simple, yet her eyes looked right into Elsa's and told her many things; that she was no longer angry, that the world was not so bad either as long as Elsa could be with Anna like this.

"I could have screamed when I sensed someone else in the room," Anna continued, still looking at Elsa, though somehow not seeing her, seeing a memory instead. "But when I glanced up and saw you standing in the shadows, I said nothing. I just shivered." She took a step closer and made Elsa shiver. "Having you there, looking at me with those eyes of yours... made me feel things I've never felt before, made me feel  _glorious_."

Anna snapped out of her reverie, her focus returning to Elsa's face, right to her eyes. "I  _should_  punish you," she said, leaving Elsa to dissolve in agony and suspense until her next words. "But  _you_  did nothing wrong. You could never do anything wrong to me, Elsa; you've helped make a lot of things clear for me."

Elsa could not believe what she was hearing, it was like all her wishes had been granted, it was too perfect.

"You see, I prefer the company of women. I've had doubts about my feelings for a long time, but marrying Kristoff confirmed them. And meeting you. Though it took me a while to realise the truth." Anna's eyes were on her body now, Elsa felt like she could see under her uniform. She leaned even closer, and to stop them from touching, Elsa pressed her back against the wall, not letting herself give in, even though what Anna said next was more wonderful than anything she had ever fantasised about.

"My heart would thud then I saw you, I started thinking about you, all the time. And imagining you when I..." Anna cut herself off, yet Elsa could guess what she meant, and her inner heat increased.

"I know you feel the same, Elsa. I know what you are: not just any woman, but special."

Desire fluttered in Elsa's centre, and her heart danced in her chest. Anna's voice... It sounded so low and sensual, beyond anything her mind had conjured.

"It's not difficult to tell," Anna said, her lips curving in a fond smile. "I've seen the way you look at me sometimes..."

Elsa had not spoken, and still no words passed her lips, though from them came a small sound of surprise and apology. She didn't think her appreciative glances had been that obvious. Discovering that Anna had known her secret desire all along made Elsa feel as if  _she_  had been seen naked instead.

"And I like it." With those few words, all Elsa's fear was erased.

Anna touched her then, lightly stroking the loose hairs around her face, then around to the back of her head.

Elsa dropped her hat, it rolled away past their feet, and she did not care because Anna stood in the space it had left. Elsa's empty hands hovered, wanting to hold her...

Anna's fingers probed around and undid Elsa's hair, letting it tumble from its chignon. Elsa felt like her real self with her hair freed, no longer a guard and bound by duty. It seemed like Anna saw it, too.

"You're a very beautiful woman, Elsa." She combed out Elsa's blonde tresses with her fingers, her hand, her touch so gentle.

Elsa searched Anna's eyes. Was this revenge? Was Anna using her to get back at Kristoff? Why couldn't she speak to ask out loud?

"But I don't just want to look at  _you_ , I want to touch you. I've wanted it for a long time... Can I?"

Elsa could only nod in complete agreement. Anna's eyes contained no trace of revenge, purely desire. This close, the true colour of her eyes was revealed; teal, both blue and green together. She let Anna touch her cheek, her hand was soft, warm, and Elsa's breath hitched.

"One thing I've always found interesting about you," Anna said, leaning even closer, her eyes all over Elsa, her hand trailing down her shoulder. "Is that you're so buttoned-up all the time."

Elsa could feel her breath, Anna's sweet, hot breath on her face, and it made wetness well up in Elsa's mouth.

Anna touched a button on the chest of her coat, her finger circling it, rubbing it... until she unfastened all the buttons on the garment, down to where the coat was restricted by her belt.

"It's not that I don't think you look... gorgeous in this uniform," Anna murmured, deftly undoing the belt to open the coat, tracing her fingers down the red lining inside before turning her attentions to the jacket Elsa wore underneath. She went to work on those buttons now, starting at the bottom, her forearms resting familiarly against Elsa's hips, hot and comforting. "It's just that... all these buttons, all these layers... They're so tempting."

Anna undid them all quickly, her breath and eyes and expression all brimming with the delight one feels when opening a long-awaited present, and she admired Elsa's figure, now highlighted by the final layers she wore.

Anna's fingertips trailed little lines up and down Elsa's stomach through her shirt, with the promise of her touch rising, but she held off, steadily drawing out Elsa's anticipation. Her own anticipation promptly gave up. Anna grabbed handfuls of Elsa's shirt, tugging, un-tucking the fabric until she could see the skin below Elsa's navel.

Elsa's stomach quivered with exposure to the air and with expectation. Anna was going to undress her, see her naked body, make them even, and Elsa was only too happy to let her.

"Watching you, wherever you are... across the hall, by the door..." Anna's voice was barely above a whisper, yet its intensity was unbearable. "It's  _very_  distracting. I always want to... unwrap you."

All that time... Elsa wasn't alone.

"I can't count the times I've thought about doing this to you, Elsa," Anna continued. "I've told myself to stop, but suppressing a need is not healthy."

"I do the same," Elsa breathed, finding she could talk again. "I try not to look at you - Ah!"

As she was speaking, Anna gripped teasing fingers into Elsa's shirt and all the layers she was wearing underneath, the chain mail, the padding, and pulled upwards. The drag of the fabric against Elsa's hardened nipples was an agonising pleasure, chills shivered between her blushing cheeks and sensitised breasts.

Elsa watched Anna's hands move lower to the exposed skin of her stomach.  _This isn't real_ , she told herself.  _I'll wake up soon, alone in my bed..._

Anna's palms pressed on her skin and made her flinch with their warmth. And oh, how real it was.

Anna had paused with her flinch, though Elsa did not protest, she relaxed and raised her eyes to Anna's. Her expression was one Elsa never dreamed she'd see; Anna's freckled face was flushed, eyes focused on her own, with lowered lids; her lips were open, her breathing loud. An unspoken agreement to continue passed between them. Anna slid her hands higher under Elsa's clothes, standing closer as she raised them. "Elsa, you're so soft," she said in a whisper of wonder.

Warm palms made contact with Elsa's breasts, Anna's fingers found her nipples, stiff and waiting for her touch. Elsa moaned, her face burned with her blush, she flattened her gloved hands against the wall while Anna rubbed the tips of her nipples, then circled the skin around them... so slowly, before pressing the stiffened peaks again, harder. The sensation went right to Elsa's centre, and with it a wetness that told Elsa she would unravel completely if Anna continued, she was so sensitive, and Anna was touching her  _just right_ , it was so good that she couldn't -

Anna stopped, her hands stilled, yet still cupped her flesh. Elsa opened her eyes, she hadn't realised she shut them in her pleasure. Anna's face was right in front of hers. "Kiss me," she said.

"I... I- I want to, but... I don't have the right," Elsa replied, breathlessly, aware that by doing so she would be crossing a line; letting herself be touched was different, but doing the touching...

A smile played around Anna's lips while she spoke. "Elsa, of course you have the right! I want you to kiss me, you want to kiss me, so just..." She lifted herself a little, not to join their mouths, though it brought her almost close enough.

Elsa let go of everything except her awareness of Anna and leaned towards her, began to join with her. She melted gradually, kissing Anna with a few tentative pressings of lips, each time feeling flutters in her stomach. Elsa settled her mouth on Anna's, her lips were open and hungry, so soft and inviting, she let Elsa feel the warmth between them and lick and stroke inside.

Anna tasted of cinnamon and honey and her own tongue awoke, with a moan from deep in her throat.

Elsa got lost in the press of Anna's body against hers, the sensation of Anna's hands slightly squeezing, lightly cupping her breasts to the rhythm of their kiss, sending waves of pleasure from Elsa's nipples to her core. Their lips and tongues together were as wet as Elsa was between her legs.

Her own hands held Anna close, almost encircling her small waist, fitting so comfortably, like a dream, a fantasy, too good to be true.

It was Anna who pulled away, a thin bridge of saliva connecting her to Elsa. Anna's eyes glittered with the fire inside her. "How long have you wanted me?" she asked. Her hands moved under Elsa's clothes, down and around behind her back. She stood so close their breasts pressed each other until Anna's cleavage peeked over the top of her dress, revealing her freckles. Anna's fingertips stroked the line of her spine, lazily up and down. Elsa shivered and Anna got the truth out of her.

"Forever. Since the moment I first saw you, maybe even before that."

A shudder shook Anna's body, and Elsa knew it was one of realisation at being wanted by another woman.

To show how much she wanted Anna, Elsa kissed her again, their tongues entwining; soft and sweet, it made them both moan. Elsa thought of how new this must be to Anna, who was used to... Remembering Anna's husband made Elsa break their kiss and gasp for breath. It felt so right and perfect, but Anna was not hers.

A confused moan passed Anna's lips when Elsa's hands dropped her waist.

"I... We can't do this," Elsa said, sadly. "You have a husband."

"What I feel for Kristoff is  _nothing_  compared to my feelings for you," Anna told Elsa, her tone and eyes serious and urgent. "Kristoff says he loves me, but he's like a teenaged boy who's never seen a woman before. If he boasted to you, he'll boast to others. But you wouldn't boast... Elsa."

In the pause before Anna said her name, Elsa melted completely. Anna's hands pulled away from her skin, and she pressed another kiss upon Elsa's mouth; just quick, though it left her lips tingling.

"There's so much...  _magic_  between us," Anna said. "It's like when I'm with you, there's no one else in the world, and nothing else matters except the two of us."

"I feel it, too." Elsa's heart was thumping, and the words flowed from her soul. "I've never felt this way this about anyone in my whole life."

Anna smiled, found Elsa's hands and lifted one. Slowly, she pinched the tips of her glove and slid it off, doing the same with the other. Elsa was conscious of how hot her hands were, and how Anna's felt on hers, the nerves singing under her skin. Anna took hold of them and guided her hands down the low neckline of her dress.

Elsa was not sure what to do, her hands hovered there, fingertips under the fabric, drawn but hesitant, until Anna pulled her dress out of the way, freeing her breasts completely so Elsa had the freedom to touch her. So close, closer than last night, she let Elsa see their freckle-dusted form, the pert nipples pink and perfect.

Anna's breasts filled Elsa's hands like it was meant to be. Her yielding flesh was warm, Elsa could feel Anna's heartbeat under her skin, coming quickly with her breaths, and a pride arose in Elsa at how much she aroused Anna's desire; her nipples stiffened under the touch of Elsa's palms.

Her hands and fingers touched as if scared to leave a mark, tracing the soft roundness of each breast. Breath, hot breath from both women, surrounded their faces while they watched Elsa's fingers caress the beautiful mounds of flesh. And at the feel of that flesh, nothing else existed for Elsa, nothing but Anna.

She had to get closer and fully appreciate that wonderful sight. Elsa lowered herself to plant a kiss on the freckled top of one breast, her lips swiftly summoned to do the same to the nipple. A long hum of pleasure came from Anna above when Elsa's mouth enclosed it, suckling, softly squeezing the other breast, feeling Anna's other hard nipple beneath her palm. Her tongue flicked over the nipple in her mouth, so lightly, and Elsa heard a soft wet sound when she released it.

Her own nipples were painfully hard under her shirt, yet Elsa forgot even that distracting sensation as Anna stroked her hair and the hand that still cupped her breast. She raised her eyes to Anna's when she spoke, smiling down tenderly at Elsa.

"Your hands and lips are so gentle," she murmured. "I can tell you've waited a long time to do this."

Elsa took her hands and kissed the back of each one, before she lifted her neck to kiss Anna's lips.

"I've waited a long time to say this, too," Elsa began, keeping her lips as close to Anna's as she could while she spoke. "Since the moment we met, I've known you're the warmest, loveliest woman in the world, but it wasn't until the start of winter I knew for sure that I love you. I love you, and if you were mine I'd worship you, your beauty would be sacred, for my eyes only. If you weren't already taken, Your Majesty..." Elsa loosened her hold on Anna's hands.

And Anna gripped them tight again. "My heart isn't taken," she insisted, the truth shining bright in her blue-green eyes. "It's still mine to give. Kristoff never had it, anything I felt for him is faded. But for you, my love is just beginning, and it's stronger than ever, Elsa." Anna eased her body closer to Elsa's, sliding a thigh between hers and grinding her warmth against Elsa's hip; Elsa could feel it through her breeches. Anna's toned leg pressed her sex, too, making her lower body seem to dissolve in a swirl of tingles and heat.

Anna brought Elsa's palms to her still-naked breasts, holding her hands over the top of Elsa's so she could feel Anna's heart beating fast, pumping passion - a passion for  _Elsa_  - around her body beneath her soft flesh.

"Say my name."

Anna stood so close that her eyes were all that Elsa could see, showing her the passion she could feel in her hands. They burned with an urgent ardour, their connection so powerful, so intense, so much... Anna must have felt it, too, because she pulled away, leaning back, lifting her thigh from Elsa's crotch.

A shuddering gasp accompanied the ache in her core that arose immediately, desperate to feel the pressure of Anna there again. Elsa realised she had been holding her breath since that moment of intensity began and hurriedly regained it, the scent of the air she breathed all Anna's; her hair, her skin, her sweet breath. She lowered her hands from Anna's bare breasts to rest them at her waist once more, still close, though allowing her space to breathe.

Enough breath returned for Elsa to speak. "Anna..." she said, as she had been bidden by the woman she loved and by her own heart. She had never heard her own voice sound so sensual.

Anna's smile was just as sensual. She sighed and placed her hands on Elsa again, one on her hip, underneath her shirt, the other pressed the outside of Elsa's breeches between her thighs and squeezed, the heat of Anna's palm meeting Elsa's own secret burning.

Elsa moaned, the loud sound echoing up to the ceiling above their heads until Anna muffled it with a kiss. She kissed Elsa, coaxing her tongue to caress her own, moving her lips in a most intoxicating way while her hands were busy below, undoing the belt of Elsa's breeches.

Anna got the buckle undone and released Elsa's mouth to concentrate on the buttons, the only obstacle stopping her and Elsa from becoming even closer. She unfastened the top button, to the accompaniment of Elsa's breaths while they both watched her hands. Anna's skilled fingers soon undid the second button, giving Anna enough room to lower her hand down the front of Elsa's breeches, pressing against her skin, slowly past the waistband of her underwear...

Elsa shivered when she felt soft, slender fingers stroke through the short, curling hair of her secret place. Anna reached down and sighed, her hot breath brushing Elsa's cheek, the warmth of her palm cupping Elsa's sex. Elsa raised her eyes to see Anna's reaction and realised the sound she could hear was their own panting breaths combined; the room was quiet but for that heavy, heady sound.

Anna's gaze was brimful with desire, staring as Elsa stared back, her moist lips half open. Anna did not blink while she dipped her finger into her slit to feel what she had done to Elsa; her eyes widened, and she looked proud at the heat and wet she found there.

Elsa quivered against her fingertip and cried out, her eyes closed with pleasure, blind to all but Anna's amazing touch covering her body.

She pressed her own centre to Elsa's leg once again, rubbing up to her. "You're perfect," Anna whispered into her ear, and Elsa could only whimper in reply.

Anna kissed the corner of her open mouth, kissed her neck, burying her face in her blonde hair. Her hot mouth there, her tongue licking the skin made Elsa shudder until she traced a trail of kisses back to Elsa's mouth and settled into a slow rhythm of kissing and licking.

A second finger slid into her lower lips and Elsa broke their kiss to gasp for air, and to watch Anna watching her while she found her way through her folds. At last, Anna's fingertips touched the little hidden bundle of sensitivity, sending a jolt of white-hot pleasure through Elsa's being. She moaned, ready to surrender everything to Anna, looking into Anna's eyes while she thrust up to her fingers, renewing the rapturous sensation. Elsa wanted this, she wanted it so much, but it had gone too far, and her mind and body were at odds.

"Anna, stop." Her voice was firm, firmer than Elsa felt herself.

Anna listened to her lover, and her fingers left Elsa's folds, yet Elsa could see she looked hurt when their gazes met, the blue-green fire in her eyes had grown dim with vulnerability. "Why?" she asked.

Elsa remembered Anna was younger than her, she had known heartbreak and rejection, Elsa could never do anything so cruel to this girl she adored... Just for a moment, her love took over and Elsa wanted to continue, to retract her words. It made her heart soar to know how much this meant to Anna...

And it meant so much to herself as well. Their first time together had to be special, had to be  _right_ , not done in the heat of the moment.

Elsa sighed and raised a hand to cup her cheek, glad when Anna did not pull away. "I'm sorry. I want to make love with you more than anything, but I can't. Not here, not now... You're married, Anna. You're not mine."

Anna lifted her hand from the front of Elsa's breeches and looked at the wetness on her fingers, evidence of how much Elsa wanted her. Elsa regretted stopping even more as she watched Anna lick her essence with a look of bliss at the taste. The liquid sounds when she sucked her fingers and let them leave her mouth sent a spasm of desire to Elsa's centre.

Yet the wedding ring shone on Anna's hand, the gold glinting in the light, and reminded Elsa of reality. Perhaps Anna saw it, too. Her next words seemed to prove she had.

"I promise you, from now on I won't let Kristoff touch me. My body is  _yours_. And my heart." Elsa felt her own wetness from Anna's fingers on her face when Anna held it. "I want this to continue soon, Elsa," she said. "I'll find a way."

Elsa placed her hands over the top of Anna's, feeling their warm softness, the ring, too, but that was eclipsed by their glances joining, exchanging mutual love.

"I want to be with you," Elsa told her, the truth evident in her every word. "If you can make it happen, I'll do everything in my power to help you." She let go of Anna's hands, telling her silently that their encounter was over for now.

Anna's own hands lowered from her face. Elsa could see sadness in her eyes when they ceased to touch, something she had never seen in them before, though it did not remain for long, Anna was strong, if sometimes a little endearingly naive... "We can't tell anyone about this, Anna," Elsa said, beginning to adjust her uniform, fastening her breeches and belt, not bothering about her jacket and shirt since the overcoat covered both once she buttoned it up again.

"I know." Anna took a step back and covered her breasts with her dress. Her eyes were on Elsa's movements while she bent to pick up her gloves. Anna looked at her curves, the bare skin of her hands for every second until they were covered.

Elsa could feel the force of her gaze, and instead of watching from the corner of her eye, she looked at Anna to see her standing with her hands clasped in front of her, watching Elsa rearrange her hair and hat on her head.

They stood before each other as if it had never happened. Only memories and a fading pressure in her core reminded Elsa that it had, and they would be all she had to hold onto until she and Anna ever had the chance to truly be together as they craved. Elsa couldn't hold back her final impulse to grasp Anna's hand, she held it tenderly, despite the glove that covered her own.

Anna's eyes grew wide, softening with the loving touch. "Elsa..."

"Thank you." Elsa felt the smile on her own lips and saw it reflected in Anna's face. "Thank you for forgiving me." She kissed the back of Anna's hand, slowly feeling the soft skin against her mouth. Elsa did not drop her hand when she had finished, but lowered Anna's limb to her side and let it go to unlock the door of the parlour.

She left Anna standing there and looked back once, sadly peering over her shoulder to see Anna watching her walk down the hallway and back to her duty. Elsa felt her life was going to change, tremendously. And although their lives were entwined by forces Elsa could not begin to understand, she knew she had to keep Anna safe, no matter what the cost of that might be. She had to put Anna's best interests first.

Anna's status as the Queen made everything more complicated; Elsa had sworn a vow to protect both her and her royal husband, but it looked like the only thing Elsa would have to protect them from was herself. This relationship, this affair was in no one's interests, not even her own. Maybe the safest thing Elsa could do was leave the castle, leave Arendelle altogether rather than risk something bad happening.

Tears blurred Elsa's vision though there was nobody to see her face crumple, nobody to hear her stifled sob. The tears had fallen by the time she joined Marshmallow at the castle gates for her afternoon duty.

* * *

For days Elsa pretended to be her normal self and kept the many changes that had happened inside. It seemed like the longest and most painful time of her life. Seeing only glimpses of Anna made things easier; it meant Elsa did not have to face the reality of what they had done... or  _almost_  done. She never saw Anna with Kristoff anymore and that, at least, was a relief.

The confusion that took hold of Elsa during those glimpses got stronger every time, and made her head and heart a mess; she wanted to look at Anna, speak to her, and at the same time she felt the need to flee.

It was worse around her friends, Kristoff and Olaf especially. Elsa had to carefully plan every word she said in case she failed to conceal her desire for Anna, simultaneously watching for signs they had noticed her secret or thought her suspicious.

Elsa almost let it out one time when Olaf caught her by surprise, sitting beside her on the bench in the guards' hall while she stirred her food around her plate.

"So, who is she?" he asked, breaking into her thoughts.

"Who?" She feigned ignorance at first, but Olaf could not be fooled so easily.

"Elsa, you don't need to lie to me, I can tell you're in love. And you know I know a thing or two about love. In fact, you could even call me a love expert!"

His grin was contagious, summoning a genuine smile to Elsa's face, something that nothing and no one had done for days.

"That's what I wanted to see!" Olaf exclaimed. "What's the problem?"

Olaf's benevolent presence eased Elsa's cares a little, made it easier to speak of them. "It's not love, exactly... Well it is." She sighed. "I love her, and she said she feels the same. Only it's too complicated. She's... she's taken."

"That's no problem," he replied, brightly. "You know what they say: get the fiancé out of the way and the whole thing will be fixed!"

"Olaf..."

"Don't give up hope, Elsa." He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "True Love will always find a way."

Elsa forced another smile and tried to trust him, tired her very best.

A couple of days after that, she and Anna spoke for the first time since their passionate exchange.

Elsa guarded the upper floors, a cold and lonely duty, especially on such a grey day. The view from the windows offered only the sight of the colourless sky, threatening heavy snow later. The roofs of the city were already covered, and ice rendered the streets slippery for anyone who had to venture out.

She patrolled the halls to keep warm, past empty chambers, expecting no one but her fellow guards and castle staff to venture beyond the warm and bustling lower floors, and froze when a figure appeared opposite her at the other end of the corridor.

It took her less than a second to recognise Anna, roaming with that gait she had which Elsa was so fond of, looking at the pictures on the walls beside her. Anna turned, stopping in her tracks when she spotted Elsa. A hand - the hand Elsa had kissed - rose to her chest in surprise, and Elsa could see her shoulders rise and fall with her breaths. After pausing a few moments, Anna resumed her pace and walked forwards.

Elsa's thoughts echoed with Anna's footsteps, and her heart beat so loud Elsa swore that sound echoed, too, but her body stayed still. She did not flee. Elsa needed to see Anna, needed to talk to her. She wanted to tell Anna that nothing had to change between them, that they were still the same women they were before and they could forget anything ever happened if Anna wanted to, yet that would not be honest. Even now Elsa kept imagining Anna's expression when she had touched her, Anna's face the moment before Elsa kissed her, flushed and wanting; she could never forget that side of Anna now she had seen it.

Anna halted in front of her.  _She wants to kiss me again, I can see it in her eyes..._  Elsa hoped she wouldn't. A burning arousal had dwelt in her all that day after Anna touched her, returning again whenever Elsa's mind wandered. And she could only let it go at night, taking care of her needs in the privacy of her bed.

To Elsa's relief - and though she wouldn't even admit it to herself, her disappointment - Anna did not kiss her. She wet her lips and opened them to speak. "Elsa, it's good to see you. I want to talk."

Their recent distance had not dulled their desire, quite the opposite, though Elsa told herself it had. She wanted to end this awkwardness and go back to how things used to be with Anna, how they should be. "So do I," she began. "I enjoyed what happened, I really did. But..." Elsa couldn't speak, couldn't say what she meant, didn't  _know_  what she meant. "I know it's not... You're... We don't know each other..." she finished, weakly.

"I know I want to be with you, Elsa."

Her words melted Elsa's heart. "If it were possible, Anna..."

"I've been thinking," Anna continued, taking a small step closer, holding her own hands, fingers interlaced, at her chest. "You could become my personal bodyguard. No one would suspect anything, we could be alone together all the time and nobody would guess..." Anna saw her look and trailed off; Elsa couldn't stop her expression shifting in doubt.

"Or if we can't do that then I'll think of something else." Determination shone in her blue-green eyes. "I won't stop until I find a way. I want you, Elsa. And I'll do whatever it takes to keep you by my side, if that's what you want, too." She reached out her hand to Elsa, but hesitated, waiting to see her reaction.

Elsa gave in, reaching out to clasp that hand in both of hers, and when she felt the warmth of Anna, Elsa did not understand how she had ever thought of giving up and leaving her. "Anna, you're amazing. If anyone can work something out, it's you."

In the smile they shared, Anna seemed to know that touch was enough for now. She withdrew her hand and with no more than a smile passing between them, they left each other to their lives.

The distance lessened yet remained. In the couple of days that followed, Elsa and Anna saw each other as they went about their separate business, exchanging a glance, a grin, nothing more. They took things slowly, gently, with no rush, giving each woman space to think, and Elsa was glad of it; she had a lot to think about.

What Elsa wanted she could not begin to say, yet Anna's kisses and touches that day after she had seen her naked body had woken something powerful in Elsa. She saw Anna everywhere, reminders of her beauty and their love.

Snow lay in thick, soft drifts when Elsa left the castle, crossing the courtyard. She thought of that day with Anna, and how brightly her cheeks had blushed; the day she had given Elsa a present... It seemed like so long ago, though in truth it had only been around a week. The memory made Elsa love the winter weather even more, and she shook the snow off her boots when she entered the warmth of the tower with a smile on her tingling face.

The festive season was still in full swing around the whole of Arendelle, Elsa could hear her fellow guards celebrating somewhere below, getting ready to go to the tavern in town. She celebrated alone, however, drinking brandy by herself, enjoying the fiery taste of the alcohol. When she held her glass to the light, the liquid looked like Anna's hair, and when she drank it, it left her with a warmth like she had felt after Anna's kiss, Anna's touch...

Elsa remembered how excited, how eager Anna had looked, the expression on her face as she had touched the heat and wetness of Elsa's arousal... Had she been right to reject Anna and their shared desire to make love? Nothing was as soft and sweet, as warm and wonderful as a woman's body, a woman's touch... She had not been intimate with anyone since her first experimental relationship years ago, Elsa regretted nothing about it, but it hadn't been  _right_ , unlike with Anna; everything between Elsa and Anna was as perfect as if it had been pre-ordained.

Elsa could recall her first time well, she had felt all the excitement and anticipation and arousal she had seen in Anna's face and wanted so much to share that with her. She regretted nothing, but wished she had saved herself for Anna... Now at least Elsa could teach her how sweet it was to love a woman... When all other problems were solved.

The warmth of the brandy summoned Elsa to bed, she wished it was the warmth of Anna instead. She did not obey that burgeoning desire, and ran a bath, thinking about Anna every moment she spent in the hot water's embrace, what it would be like to bathe with her, their wet bodies entwined in the same tub, to wash and dry her flawless freckled form... And then climb into bed with her... To wake up in the morning, seeing Anna's face first thing each day... Elsa would have given everything she could for that life.

Nevertheless, Elsa was content with how things were right now, and they were changing gradually in her favour. She noticed differences in Kristoff and Anna when she was guarding them for public court one day. They did not touch, their bodies were angled away from one another, no eye contact between them the whole time. Elsa was ashamed to admit that it made her happy. It meant Anna's glances brought no more guilt. Anna herself seemed happier when she looked at Elsa, and Anna's happiness was enough to make her own joy last and warm her through the winter nights.

Her room was filled with light and silence each gelid morning once the sun rose. Icicles hung down from the eaves beyond her window when she opened the curtains onto the view of the frozen fjord. Elsa's exhalation made a mist around her face after she briefly opened the window for a breath of cold air.

She dressed and prepared herself for the day, not aware that a surprise awaited her. Elsa had just finished dressing herself when a merry knock sounded on her door; a tune of five knocks, completely different from the businesslike call to work Elsa usually received each day. And it couldn't be Olaf coming to visit her, he didn't bother to knock at all. She cautiously turned the handle to see who waited for her on the other side.

Elsa should have guessed, should have sensed who it would be. But seeing Anna so suddenly and so close, the woman she had only been this close to in dreams since that day... An "oh!" of surprise was all Elsa could utter in greeting.

Anna smiled, seeing the effect she had on Elsa, and lowered the hood she wore over her head. They had privacy here, Anna's cloak meant no one would have seen who she was, and Elsa moved back so she could enter, and shut the door behind her. Anna stepped daintily into the room Elsa called her own, standing in the centre, casting her eyes over every object, and focusing on Elsa when she had finished.

Elsa did something she had wanted to do for ages and pulled off her gloves, using a bare hand to brush Anna's fringe away from her face, marvelling at the beauty of her features; this wonderful woman who was so precious and loved Elsa enough to change her whole life for her.

They had not spoken and did not need to. Anna's eyes were fixed on hers, smiling like Elsa was the best thing in existence. She leaned into her touch and covered Elsa's hand with her own, lacing their fingers and squeezing softly. Elsa didn't want to let go; it was so  _easy_  with Anna, easy to love and be loved, to just  _be..._

"I hear it's your day off tomorrow," Anna said, changing the mood, but not breaking it with the sound of her speech.

"It is, Your Majesty."

"Elsa, don't call me that anymore." She lowered her hand, still entwined with Elsa's, and held the other one, too. "I love you, that means we're equals... Come and dine with me tomorrow!"

It was a request so unexpected that it made Elsa pause, considering all the consequences and dangers instead of how much she wanted to spend time with Anna doing something all couples should. "What about the King?"

"Kristoff's not here, remember? He's gone north for a few days with those friends of his."

"Of course..." Elsa had seen their sleds and supplies being prepared yesterday. "But where do you want us to go?"

"Just the castle," Anna replied. "It's the closest, warmest place for both of us, and probably the quietest place in Arendelle at this time of year."

Elsa looked away from her passionate green-blue gaze for a moment before Anna could convince her completely. "Won't people get suspicious if they see me in the castle when I'm not on duty?"

"Not if you're out of your uniform. Even though it looks great on you, I want to see you in other clothes," Anna said, quickly sweeping her eyes over Elsa's figure, as if picturing her wearing a whole array of different outfits, or in nothing at all. "You don't have to worry. So, will you come? Please?"

With Anna's hands squeezing hers, her eyes looking right into Elsa's, how could she say no? Yet instead of speaking, Elsa raised the hands she held to her lips, pressing soft, slow kisses on every knuckle and the stray freckles she found there. The feeling was so wonderful that Elsa's voice had lowered to a murmur when she finally spoke. "I would be honoured to, Anna."

She had blushed to hear Elsa say her name and said nothing, just watched while Elsa lowered their hands between them once more. Then she leaned in, so slowly Elsa wondered what she meant to do until their lips met, pressing, melding together with soft sounds.

They kissed with neither the urgency nor the fervency that they had last time, simply wishing to be a little closer together, and Anna soon broke away to nestle her face next to Elsa's neck. She wrapped her arms around Elsa's waist. "There are no words to say how good it feels to hold you, Elsa. I've waited to do this."

Elsa's arms encircled Anna's back, hesitantly to begin with, yet soon relaxing, embracing her tightly. This was the first time they held each other and she would remember it fondly forever. She could hear Anna's breath near her ear, feel her shift in her arms and press their bodies closer; her sweet scent was all around.

"I wish it could be like this all the time."

Elsa blushed. She could tell Anna definitely felt the same; Anna loved her and did not just lust after her as Elsa had feared. "Me too."

They remained like that for neither knew how long - a brief moment if measured in love - until Anna took a step back, releasing Elsa from their embrace. "Will you come and meet me tomorrow?" she asked, her hands lingering on the sides of Elsa's arms.

"Yes!" Elsa answered, almost laughing at her endearing desperation, and with the pure bliss of being loved by Anna.

"Great!" She squeezed Elsa's arms affectionately and rearranged her cloak, preparing to leave. "I'll get everything ready, and I promise you'll have a good time..."

"Anna, as long as I'm with you I'll have a good time!"

Anna's smile softened with tenderness. She sighed before it faded slightly. "I wish I didn't have to leave." But she did, and with a swirl of her cloak and perfume, she opened the door and was gone.

That encounter and memories of their embrace warmed Elsa through her duty on the castle gates all day, and that evening when she returned to her room, Elsa could still smell traces of the perfume Anna wore; she slept better than she ever had now her room had been graced by Anna's presence.

Elsa woke up early the next day, although she could have slept in late if she wanted. There was a lot to prepare for, Elsa wanted to make it a perfect day, one that she and Anna would look back on happily when they were truly together, as Elsa now firmly believed they would be, someday soon.

She started by taking a long hot bath, mixing scented oils with the water to make her skin softer and more sweet-smelling than usual. The next task was much more difficult, and Elsa spent quite a while in front of her closet clad only in her robe. She owned many dresses and usually wore them on her days off or when relaxing. For occasions like that, Elsa loved to have so much choice of what to wear, yet now she had to decide which dress was best for a dinner with the Queen, and not only the Queen, the woman she loved. Elsa knew she had to make sure she displayed her beauty and looked suitably noble.

The gown she settled upon was a purple so dark it looked almost blue, it had no sleeves and off-the-shoulder straps, the dark colour contrasted strikingly with the snow-white skin of Elsa's arms and neck. Low-cut, sleek and tight, it clung to Elsa's hips as she wished Anna would, and showed all the curves of her body underneath. Over it, Elsa planned to wear the finest cloak she owned, to keep warm on the short walk between her home and the castle. It was made of dark green velvet and had a white fur trimming around the collar; both it and the dress were beautiful alone, but combined with the natural beauty of Elsa, they created a loveliness rarely surpassed by mortal women.

Once all was decided, Elsa laid the garments out ready to wear and made some final preparations to herself before there came a knock at the door, again not a rhythm she was used to, and not Anna's either. She pulled her robe securely around her body and answered the door to find it was a messenger carrying a short note from Anna. Elsa read it with a fluttering heart as soon as the door was closed again and learned when and where Anna wanted to meet her, examining Anna's handwriting, the small inkblot and fingerprints she had left, imagining the hand that made them hurriedly scribbling.

There was not long to go until the appointed time, and excitement swirled in all of Elsa's body and soul. The anticipation of being with Anna again - and in such an intimate setting - quickened the speed she dressed, and soon Elsa was clad in her gown, ensuring every fastening was fitted and every crease smoothed away. She glanced at the clock and told herself to slow down; although Elsa liked to be early, if she continued at this pace she would arrive far too soon, so she took extra time preparing her hair. Elsa styled her tresses into a braid and made it luxuriantly thick, arranging a few loose blonde locks to frame her face. While she sat, Elsa pulled on her boots, black suede and ankle-high, hidden by the dress's length. When she stood with the cloak around her shoulders, no one would ever have guessed Elsa was a guard by looking at her, and she hoped Anna would be pleased to see this side of herself.

Right on time, Elsa put out her light and secured her room. No one saw her leave the guards' tower and the only people she encountered on the way to the castle were Olaf and Marshmallow on duty at the castle doors. They saluted when they saw her, maybe mistaking her for one of Anna's royal acquaintances or another official guest. Not even her friends could recognise Elsa in her outfit, and she brought a hand to her mouth to stop her giggle, managing to turn it into a ladylike cough.

Kai didn't seem to know who she was either and politely showed Elsa to where the Queen awaited her. It was a small dining room, rarely used, with a table set for two. Anna stood up from her seat when Elsa entered. Dressed in a maroon gown, she looked sophisticated; the twin braids that hung down over her chest - which Elsa knew was Anna's favourite hairstyle - somehow went very well with it.

She was definitely pleased to see Elsa. Anna's eyes grew so wide they looked light blue, a shade Elsa had never seen in them before; they had many sides to them, like Anna's personality. And tonight Elsa planned to show Anna some of the other sides to her own.

A servant took Elsa's cloak and Anna's mouth fell open when she saw what was underneath.

Her bare hands pale against the fabric, Elsa delicately took hold of her dress and curtseyed to the Queen. She felt Anna's eyes on her, lingering on her white bosom showing over the top of the neckline.

"Queen Anna, you look beautiful," Elsa said when she had risen, stroking the end of her braid in the brief silence that followed before Anna managed to find her words.

"Wow! I mean, you... You look different..."

A grin rose to Elsa's face to see the effect she had on Anna.

"A good different..." Anna added, blushing and toying with her fingers.

Elsa wanted to relax her, but they could only exchange more comments and compliments until the servants left to bring their food. The second they were alone, Anna came closer.

"You look stunning." It was clear the praise came from her heart. "There's no one around, be honest with me, Elsa. Say what's on your mind, I want to know."

With Anna's eyes on hers, Elsa could do nothing but obey and tell her what she had wanted to do since she had seen Anna's adorableness when they met this evening. "Can I kiss you?"

Anna giggled almost shyly and placed her hands in Elsa's, the bare skin of their palms blended and warmed each other. She leaned up, eyes closed, lips parted, waiting for Elsa to come to her.

And Elsa did. Closing the distance, she brought her mouth to Anna's, so slowly she could feel their breaths mingling, hear Anna's quicken just before her lips touched hers in warm and tender softness.

Only a few moments of sweet yielding and melding later, Anna let their mouths part and held Elsa instead, encircling her waist in her embrace. "I'm glad you're here," she murmured against Elsa's bare shoulder, tickling the skin with her breath. "I was worried you wouldn't come, because of... everything."

Elsa breathed in the scent of Anna, nuzzling between her neck and shoulders. Her hair and her skin smelled so wonderful; of love, of home, of safety... Elsa didn't want to stop or ever leave this spot so close to her, and she told Anna something she had come to understand herself. "You don't have to worry anymore."

Anna sighed softly, holding Elsa tighter. The silence between them was blissful, though not complete; Elsa could hear the sound of both their breaths, Anna's hand stroking the back of her dress, the rhythm of her own heartbeat.

They sprang apart at the noise of the door handle turning and quickly seated themselves. The servants paid no heed to their blushing smiles and brought the first course.

Elsa watched them set out the food and realised she was actually very hungry, having forgotten to eat during the day in her excitement. That night she would be eating oysters, a dish she rarely ate, though it was common in Arendelle and a curious choice to have in the company of the Queen. "Have you eaten these before, Your Majesty?" she asked out of interest.

Anna looked annoyed at Elsa's use of her title, but seemed to think it was fine in the presence of the servants and smiled when she replied. "A few times."

Both women took an oyster from the platter and began to eat. The shape of the shellfish, the taste of them, the texture of the flesh on her tongue... Elsa tried not to dwell on it. She ate in silence, getting used to the unfamiliarity of the situation. The servants attended them constantly, refilling their glasses with white wine, offering side dishes and condiments, though there was only one other person eating with her, and no noise from a hall full of her fellow guards, which Elsa naturally found much nicer.

The wine flowed and the food diminished, Anna and Elsa exchanged eye contact more than words. Anna's eyes flicked to watch the last servant leave and she leaned over the table to feed the final oyster to Elsa.

She took the empty shell from Anna after she had eaten, licking the inside of it, not breaking their joined gaze the entire time. Inspired, Elsa took Anna's hand from where she held it - frozen above the table as she watched Elsa's actions - and licked the liquid from her fingers, tasting salt, and Anna's skin. The blush that coloured her cheeks showed Elsa why she had chosen this dish, and Anna's smile a moment later proved she was completely aware of it.

The main course followed and while they ate, something lifted between Elsa and Anna, conversation came easier. They spent the time lost in each other's eyes, talking, laughing, learning, completely oblivious to everything around; sheltered from the real world by the other's presence. Yet they managed to keep the expression of their feelings subtle while the servants were still there.

Anna almost gave it all away when she brushed Elsa's leg with her own under the table. Elsa did nothing at first, thinking it was probably just an accident, and concentrated on finishing her food. A moment later, she felt Anna touch her again, this time she had slid off her shoe and skilfully lifted the hem of Elsa's dress with it to run her bare foot up the inside of her leg in a touch that sent a shiver up Elsa's entire body.

She spluttered on her wine and almost choked, but drained the glass to try and calm her mind and body; the sensation of Anna's skin on hers had made her nipples hard, outlined clearly under her dress. Elsa saw Anna staring at them smugly, caressing the stem of her wineglass. Shifting in her seat with the arousal that now tingled in her centre, Elsa was tempted to climb under the table, pull up Anna's skirt and lick and suck between her legs as she had eaten the oysters.

Of course, Elsa caught herself and did nothing of the sort, she did not even attempt to do the same to Anna, feeling somewhat clumsy from the wine she had just drunk. Anna's foot withdrew, and she did not do anything else other than grin at Elsa with her eyelids half lowered, an expression Elsa had seen before and adored for many reasons; she could only smile back.

Their previous ease resumed, though Elsa couldn't help but be more conscious of herself and Anna. Still, she was surprised by how easy it always was when they were together; without saying it exactly, they both shared their feelings for each other and acknowledged it.

The servants left Anna and Elsa alone again and Elsa felt herself fill with warmth and adoration when Anna took her hand, her thumb stroking the back.

"This has been wonderful, talking with you, spending time with you."

"It has," Elsa agreed. "I feel so lucky, like I've found the other side of myself. You make me..."

"Whole," Anna finished for her, and Elsa looked at her almost anew, because that was exactly it: Anna gave her completion. She gazed at Anna's smile, Anna's eyes, so beautiful, so open and so kind... Elsa didn't know it was possible to love someone that much, or to have such passions returned.

A servant interrupted their moment, but the interruption was a welcome one in the form of dessert; a cake with white chocolate, meringues and cream. They each ate a spoonful and Elsa followed Anna's eyes, following the servant as he left. When they were alone once more, Anna took her own spoon and leaned forward to feed Elsa with it, inspiring Elsa to do the same. Their eyes feasted just as much, both watching the woman opposite eat and lick the sweet dessert; almost as sweet as their love.

No one saw the two giggling women with their arms around each other entering the guards' tower some time later. Anna had insisted on walking Elsa home, despite the fact that Elsa was  _her_  guard, and being the polite young woman she was, Elsa invited her inside.

In the privacy of Elsa's chamber, Anna rekindled the embers in the hearth until the flames blazed brightly, spreading heat around the room, just as she had spread love to Elsa's heart. While she fed the fire and warmed her hands, Elsa poured a small glass of brandy for them both to warm them even more.

"You don't have to seduce me with alcohol, Elsa," Anna told her, sitting on the bed with a smile upon her face. "I'm already yours." She drank the brandy in a single swallow, all the same.

Elsa sat beside her, since the bed was the only piece of furniture in the room large enough for them both. She laughed with the pure pleasure of being in Anna's company, and still more with the joy of hearing her say those words. "I still can't think why you are," she said, looking at Anna here in her room, the woman she had never dared to even hope would become hers.

Anna smiled. "Because you're  _you_. And I know you're going to listen to me and respect me and give me everything I need." She left unsaid that she hadn't got those things from Kristoff, yet Elsa could sense she meant it, and shuffled closer to Anna's side.

"I always will. I promise."

"You don't need to promise," Anna murmured. "I already know you love me."

"I do, Anna. With all my heart, more than anything."

"Then show me." Anna did not move, yet her eyes held a passion Elsa could tell she was desperate to express, focusing them in turn on Elsa's lips, her breasts, her own eyes...

Elsa had to lower hers, looking at the glass she held. Setting it down on the table, she saw the brandy was not like Anna's hair at all, the colour of the amber liquid was dull compared to it, though she tasted the drink on Anna's lips when they kissed.

Numbed from the alcohol, Elsa's mouth was more sensitive, feeling every slight movement Anna made as she yielded and their mouths melded, more than she ever had before. Anna lay back, pulling her lover with her, letting Elsa lean over her on the bed. They fitted together despite their dresses in the way, and Elsa's thigh found its place between Anna's. Every time Elsa broke away to breathe she saw Anna's blushing cheeks, heard her quickened breaths. Her lips were red and wet and warm, soft when Elsa kissed them. She wanted to touch them with her fingers, too, and did so, tracing Anna's lips with her thumbs while her fingertips cradled Anna's cheeks, feeling their flushed heat.

Elsa came closer to kiss her, brushing their noses together first while the sensation of their hot, open-mouthed breaths surrounded her face. When their lips met again, Anna's tongue greeted her between them, awakening her own. She could hear and feel the hum of her voice when Anna moaned, summoning a matching moan from within herself, awakening Elsa's arousal.

Anna's fingers wove into her hair, and Elsa let hers move down the gorgeous form of Anna, from her shoulders, slowly over the swell of her breasts, the flatness of her stomach, feeling the heat and contours of her body, brand new and familiar and oh so soft. Teasing both herself and Anna, Elsa touched her hips, lower, to the tops of her thighs, and kept her hands there while Anna's breath came fast and fluttering.

She had broken their kiss to gasp and release desperate moans as she pushed her body up to Elsa's touch. Blushing brighter, Anna looked up into her eyes, her attention fixed on Elsa.

Removing her hands from Anna's body, prompting a moan from her lover's lips, Elsa supported herself on her arms to look down and appreciate just how lovely she really was; lying there, her braids spread out beside her face, gazing up at Elsa like she was the centre of Anna's world, wanting and waiting with her mouth open.

"You're beautiful, you know." The words seemed so inadequate to Elsa, but they were still true.

"So are you." Anna's hand cupped her cheek. "Elsa, I'm ready for you..." she breathed, spreading her legs.

Desire fluttered low in Elsa's stomach, deep inside her body, her soul, to hear Anna say those words. It would be so easy to lift her skirt, free Anna of her underclothes and pleasure her all night long, their voices joining together in moans, their bodies in passion...

To know  _Anna_  would give Elsa her heart, her body, her love... Elsa would take them and cherish them, but not today, not yet.

"No," she said firmly, both to herself and Anna, sitting back on her knees. "Not while you're married. You made a promise to your husband in front of gods and men... I'm sorry if you thought that's what I intended by bringing you here." Elsa wasn't entirely sure herself if that had not been her intention all along. She got up from the bed and began to pace the small space of her room, giving in to the nervous habit. Anna watched her, arranging her clothes and her body to sit.

"I can't be 'the other woman' or your paramour or concubine," Elsa said, when she had found her honesty and her words. "That's not who I am, and you're not the sort of person to do that either, Anna." The whole thing, the situation between them, starting with Kristoff's actions that had been the catalyst, was sordid and scandalous, yet the love between Anna and Elsa was pure and beautiful...

"Elsa, it won't be like this for much longer!"

Elsa felt glad that Anna could see how much stress it was all causing her. "I'm going to leave Kristoff," Anna announced, standing up from the bed and stepping towards Elsa, who stopped pacing with her proximity.

"You don't have to sacrifice being Queen for me, Anna," she said, smiling sadly. "I'll leave instead, the last thing I want to do is cause trouble. And then..." Elsa ran her hands through her hair. She had forgotten all about it with the joy of their dinner but reality intruded now the day was over. "I just want to be with you, Anna. I have this fantasy of waking up with you every morning, spending the whole day together. If only..."

Anna's touch stopped her worried words, and seeing the face of the woman she loved smiling at her with hope and kindness in her eyes calmed Elsa's nerves.

"I'm working something out. No one will get hurt or lose anything, trust me," Anna assured her, with a gentle squeeze of her arm. "I've discovered a lot recently. About my own heart..." she placed her hand on her chest to show the extent of her feelings before continuing. "And so much more! Kristoff's not my True Love, he's not the one. It was fun with him to begin with, it really was, and I thought I was happy. He's a good person, better than the man I thought I loved before, and it seemed like everything was going to work out... It did at first, but then I got to know him, and I got to know about what he doesn't tell me, too."

Elsa listened, feeling somewhat ashamed to have helped ruin a marriage, regardless of that marriage's faults.

"I've been investigating some of the things Kristoff's done and they're crimes, though some people seem to think it's not a crime if the King does it," she said, with a brief laugh of bitter indignation. "You know his family from the mountains? He helped them with their debts and now the crown's in debt instead! Kristoff's been borrowing money from  _my_  family to try and make up for it and he wants to borrow even more from Weselton with some kind of trade deal. It's not right, not for Arendelle or anyone who lives here! I'm going to talk to him when he gets back; I have a plan, and Kristoff won't be King for much longer."

Just as Elsa had been mesmerised to see Anna's naked beauty, now she was overwhelmed by Anna's intelligence, strength and determination. For only eighteen, Anna was very clever indeed; Elsa hadn't had the chance to see it until now, and felt her love for Anna grow stronger, filling her heart.

"But I suppose I have to thank Kristoff. Without him, I probably wouldn't have found out how you really feel about me, and we wouldn't be here." Anna grinned and draped her arms round Elsa's shoulders, standing closer to press their bodies together.

"Don't thank him, thank yourself," said Elsa, holding Anna's hips, stroking patterns with her thumbs to make her shiver. "If you hadn't been the smartest, kindest, most beautiful woman in Arendelle..." She sighed. Words weren't enough. "Just... I love you, Anna."

"I love you, too," Anna replied, kissing Elsa and making it a perfect end to a perfect day.

* * *

It was coming to the end of the month, of the year, and the start of winter's climax when everything changed.

Cold winds and snow from the northern mountains froze the whole city. Elsa was summoned from the guards' hall, where she sat around the fire with her friends to keep warm while off duty. Gerda gave her the message that the Queen wanted to see her in the library, and walked back with her across the courtyard. The old woman shivered in her cloak and complained of the cold until they parted ways once inside the castle.

As cold as it had been outside and in the corridors, the library's heat was quite the opposite, and it took Elsa by surprise as she stepped inside. The fire blazed, and Anna's temper blazed with it; Elsa could tell from her stance and her eyes, although she had never seen Anna truly angry before. She glanced at Elsa, and her face softened, but soon changed again when she turned back to Kristoff.

Elsa watched Anna confront him about everything, about what she had told Elsa and even more. "If others find out," Anna said, firmly and calmly. "Some will say it was your bastard blood that made you do it, and because you were born outside the law and you've acted outside the law, you should be dealt justice outside the law, too. And I bet most of the kingdom would agree."

Kristoff looked ashamed of himself, there was fear and regret in his eyes, too; he was clearly in over his head.

"But I don't want that to happen to you, Kristoff," Anna continued, more kindly, yet still firm. "So instead I think you should abdicate and name me Queen because you have no heir and no one else is suitable."

"What the - ?" Kristoff tried to cut in, though Anna ignored him.

"I'm sure the country will support me, they'll realise the mistake they made with you, like I did." Anna looked relieved after all the speeches she had made, and Elsa could sense she was coming to the end. "Thankfully I know how to fix it all, and the first thing I'm going to do about it is get our marriage annulled."

"What? No! Why?" Kristoff sprang up from his seat and went to his wife's side. Anna refused to touch him, folding her arms and giving him the reason that Elsa knew would bring her into this, too.

"I know about the night you invited Elsa to see me undressing."

"You told her?" Kristoff asked, spinning round to look at her. He wore a hurt expression and Elsa's first reaction was regret.

 _What have I done?_  she asked herself, knowing that their friendship was over, his marriage and his reign was over, because of her. Yet Elsa was not sorry. This whole situation had not been her doing and something beautiful had blossomed from the ashes of its ruin: her love for Anna. Elsa looked at her, Anna who loved her and whom she loved... Elsa could never apologise for that. "I... Yes. I had to be honest."

Kristoff sighed, broken. "I should be honest, too. You're right, Anna. It was all a mistake, becoming King, asking Elsa... Everything. My family and I will get out of Arendelle, we never should have left the mountains in the first place. I'm sorry about the money, I guess I just got carried away, all that responsibility's too complicated for me. There's no way I can pay it back..." He finished with a shamed silence.

His honesty prompted Elsa to tell the whole truth. "There's something else you should know." She went to Anna, took her by the hand and they turned to Kristoff together. "Anna and I are in love."

Kristoff looked even more betrayed than he had before, although Elsa knew with full confidence that he was the one who had done the betraying. "So that's why..." he began, unable to meet Anna's eyes for very long.

"That's why I don't want to be with you anymore. You treated me like a mistress, not a wife. You let someone come into our room to see me naked and displayed me like an object!"

Elsa felt ashamed after Anna's words to have been involved in such a dishonourable deed, though she was assured by Anna's hand in hers that the woman she loved had forgiven her.

"I'm glad that it was Elsa, but if it had been anyone else... I can't trust you, I can't be with you, Kristoff."

"Anna, I am so sorry," he said, sincerity in his voice and eyes, yet they all knew that what he had done could not be erased. "I didn't think you'd ever find out. And I didn't think it would hurt you so much. I just... couldn't stop myself from telling someone else about how beautiful you are... Because I really do love you, only not in the right way, I know that now."

A worry seized Elsa that Kristoff would somehow try to win Anna back from her, though a few moments later it proved to be unfounded; he truly had given up.

"You're precious, and I let you down. I never deserved you, Anna. If anyone can take care of you as you deserve, it's Elsa."

"I know." Anna looked up proudly at Elsa by her side and squeezed her hand. Elsa looked back at her, trying to contain her bliss and slow her speeding heart.  _She's mine, she's really mine!_  her mind kept singing, so thankful and glad it had happened so easily.

Elsa was not there to see them tell the councillors the next day, and heard from Anna what had happened. They were shocked at first by the initial announcements, though after Anna and Kristoff explained about the money and his conduct, the council agreed to the proposals immediately.

Then Anna's reign as Queen of Arendelle began. Her coronation was a quiet affair, Elsa drew guard duty that day - to both her and Anna's surprise and amusement - and Elsa watched every moment, sharing glances with her beloved, trying not to look happier than was appropriate for a guard, safe in the knowledge that they would be by each other's side some day soon.

That day became even sooner when Kristoff and Anna obtained the approval of the temple for their marriage's annulment. They parted in a small ceremony, showing their friendship remained.

Elsa had her own obligations at the temple and paid homage to the gods and goddesses she knew had helped her achieve a happiness Elsa never thought she would know. She gave votive offerings to the shrines, jewellery, fine clothes; the most precious things Elsa owned she offered to the Divines, because they had given her the precious gift of Anna and her love.

The erstwhile King left Arendelle, passing on his kingdom to Anna with a handshake. Elsa was there to see him leave, standing on the edge of town in the snow.

Kristoff wore his old furs and looked more natural out here in his element. Elsa watched the way he held himself and thought he looked happier than she had ever seen him, and she silently wished him well; he was a good person, really.

"I don't need to ask you to take care of Arendelle, Anna," he said, with both his gloved hands round hers.

"Of course you don't, Kristoff," Anna replied. "But you do need to come and visit us sometime soon, Queen's orders."

"Yes, please do," Elsa added.

Kristoff smiled at her and shook her hand after letting go of Anna's, his every gesture filled with friendship for them both. "I'll be back to visit soon, I promise. And I don't need to ask you to take care of Anna, since you've been doing that all along."

"You have my word I will, Kristoff," she said, aware of Anna smiling at her proudly on the edge of her vision. "And make sure  _you_  take care of yourself."

He backed away, footsteps crunching in the deep snow. "Now I have no more duties I feel better already, and even the air's fresher here out of the city! Until next time!" Kristoff raised a hand in farewell and walked off into the mountains with his lute on his back and Sven at his side, his friends were waiting with sleds and reindeer to return to where they belonged.

Elsa and Anna took each other's hands and did the same.

The castle was emptier, quieter without Kristoff's family, giving the two lovers all the more opportunities to enjoy one another's company. Anna planned a private dinner for them both and Elsa found herself sitting in the same room, in the same seat she had sat in less than a week ago. So much had changed and yet nothing had at all; the feelings between Anna and Elsa were the same, only they were able to truly express them.

"Elsa, will you marry me?" Anna clasped her hand, her eyes and touch and words full of love. The woman Elsa wanted to treat like a Queen was treating her like one instead, and now Anna wanted to make her a Queen in truth and rule together. There was only one suitable reply.

"Yes, Anna, of course I'll marry you!"

Anna stood up and leaned over the table, heedless of the food and drink she spilled, kissing Elsa as she had never been kissed before, so passionately it took her breath away. Elsa kissed her back with smiling lips and thought she would never be happier. But every day after proved her wrong, Elsa's joy and love for Anna grew each time she saw her.

At Anna's first council as Queen, Elsa was by her side, dressed in her own clothes. Others looked curiously at the woman who to them was only a beautiful, tall, fair stranger; Elsa smiled to herself until Anna revealed who she was, and smiled again to see their reactions.

She watched her betrothed deal with the most pressing needs of her country and make financial preparations immediately to mend the troubles Kristoff had caused, applauding her with the other councillors when Anna proved to be a fine Queen on only her first official day of duty.

After the applause settled down, Anna announced her engagement to Elsa, smiling lovingly at her, though from the way Anna gripped her hand, Elsa could tell she was nervous to see their reaction.

Some of the councillors were shocked at the speed, since Anna's last marriage had ended only days before, yet they must have seen the love between her and Elsa, because all approved unanimously. Now Elsa and Anna could focus on the final and most important event before their bliss was complete.

The wedding celebrations went perfectly, extending the holiday season for the whole country, and the citizens of Arendelle rejoiced. Anna and Elsa were married on the morning of New Year's Day, the temple grounds lit by the low winter sun shining through the clouds. They kissed to the sound of the temple bells ringing and a light snowfall dusted the city that day, a heaven-sent blessing of their marriage that settled in Anna's hair, in Elsa's own, loose around her shoulders and on the white of both their dresses, to the sound of the crowd cheering.

No guards were posted outside the brand new bedchamber, because Elsa was all the protection Anna needed, the most loyal and adoring lover who would guard her sacred wife with her life. The wedding night came, the time to express their new True Love, and Elsa closed and locked the door of their bedroom behind them, to enjoy the moment both she and Anna had been awaiting, to be alone with the woman she loved and share their most intimate moments in privacy for the rest of their wonderful lives.


	19. Gemini

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contains incest.

The sisters kissed, glowing from the pleasure they had just reached together. Upon the pillow beneath them, Elsa's blonde hair blended with Anna's red, blue eyes gazed into teal. They were twins, but they looked so different.

This had annoyed Anna at first. "I want to look like you!" she remembered she had said to her sister, one day while playing. She and Elsa were little and had owned two dolls who were twins, there was a picture book, too, about twin Princesses; those twins looked exactly the same, but Elsa and Anna didn't. "I want to have your pretty hair!"

"I'd rather look like you, Anna," Elsa had replied, smiling at her. "Your red hair is prettier."

"No it's not," she had insisted, and watched curiously as Elsa put down her doll and took hold of Anna's hand instead.

"We can't change how we look," Elsa had said, with wisdom beyond her years. "You have to love yourself, because I love you, Anna."

"I love you, too, Elsa!" Anna had hugged her then, knocking her sister down onto the soft rug in her enthusiasm, where they laughed together.

Anna had long since learned and accepted that she and her sister would always be different, and now she knew it was a good different. Even so, despite those differences, they shared many similarities; Elsa and Anna had the same freckles, same-sized hands and feet, the same heartbeat... Though they each used different hands to write, and Anna had many more freckles than her sister; Elsa's were faint, only on her cheeks.

Their appearances were not the only ways in which they differed, Anna and Elsa's personalities sometimes made them seem like total opposites. Elsa was calmer, quieter that her sister, she took a while to warm up and let herself go; Anna, however, was almost always active, and had a feisty temper. If Anna had a tantrum, no servants in the castle and not even her royal parents could pacify the Princess, only Elsa could cool her down again.

Yet there was never conflict or rivalry between them. The sisters shared all they had, always staying together like two halves of a whole. And it was still the same today.

Elsa turned her head on the pillow, nestling into her sister's ginger tresses, and breathed in. Anna's hair smelled of sunshine and summer days... She sighed with the scent's beauty and looked back into her sister's eyes, smiling.

Were Anna's eyes bluish-green or greenish-blue? Elsa never could tell, her twin kept that secret to herself. Anna bit her bottom lip, moving those mysterious eyes over all of Elsa's features.

"What are you thinking?" Elsa stroked her cheek, wondering that, although she and Anna shared everything, she could still not read her sister's thoughts.

"I love your smile," Anna murmured, running her fingertip over the curve of Elsa's lips. "But I won't get to see it if I kiss you."

The small distance between them closed, their mouths connected and Anna didn't mind because she could  _feel_  Elsa's smile on her lips. Those lips soon opened and the sisters began to both lose and find themselves in the wet entwining of their tongues, accompanied by soft moans of contentment.

* * *

Elsa and Anna were inseparable, they did everything together: playing and studying, eating and sleeping, bathing and dressing. They had done so for every moment of their lives, never letting anything come between them; not a single thing could pull the sisters apart.

They were eight when they found out Elsa was immortal.

Sneaking out to go sledding had seemed like a good idea at the time. Anna and her sister had dressed in their warm winter clothes and ran hand-in-hand to the mountains beyond the city. There they had found the best slopes to slide down on their little wooden sled, soaring through the snow together, feeling the thrill of almost flying, even more intense for each girl because she held her sister's hand, heard her happy shrieks in her ears.

Had it been their joyful cries that caused it? They never knew, because what came next was the most frightening experience of their young lives.

A rumble sounded in the distance, not thunder, too constant, and getting closer. They saw it then, an avalanche, like a huge white wave moving so quickly they didn't have time to think.

Frozen in fear, the sisters stood in its path. Given strength by she knew not what, Elsa pushed Anna out of the way just in time, to land in soft snow, sheltered by the broad trunk of a tree.

She curled up there until everything was still and silent. Anna searched for her sister, finding Elsa wasn't at her side as she had thought. She climbed up onto the bank of snow brought down from the mountain but saw no sign of Elsa's blonde hair or her blue coat.

Anna's eyes and heart showed her different things and she did not know which to believe. Her eyes told her that her sister was gone, destroyed like the remnants of their sled, smashed by the snow; her heart said Elsa was still there, though she could see no trace of her.

Anna waited. "Elsa?" she called uncertainly. Tears of confusion welled up in her eyes and flowed down her cold cheeks. She waited again.

A movement made her heart beat fast and it jumped in her chest when Elsa emerged from under the snow, covered from head to toe in whiteness. "Anna?" she gasped, stumbling towards her.

"Elsa!" Anna clung to her sister, her body was as warm as ever.

Once they had recovered enough to think and the initial fear had passed, curiosity arose in them both. The sisters were intelligent, inquisitive girls and it occurred to them that if a whole avalanche had not hurt Elsa, what else could she do? So they experimented.

Elsa didn't freeze, she put her bare foot into the icy fjord and held it there; she felt nothing. Elsa didn't burn, either, which they found out when she and Anna went back to the castle and to the library fireplace; the flames wouldn't burn her skin no matter how long Elsa held her hand in them.

They got the truth from their mother. The King and Queen had been frantic while the girls spent the day on their adventures. When they saw Anna and Elsa, held them and made sure they were all right, their relief lessened the surprise of what they heard.

The sisters explained where they had been and what they had done, when they asked why Elsa was unharmed, their mother replied with a whimsical smile. "I will tell you why," she said. "Elsa, you're not like the rest of us. Your Papa here is not your real father, your true father is a god. He chose me, saw me in the temple on the day the two of us got married..."

Elsa and Anna believed her; they had no reason not to, their mother was the kindest woman they knew, always showing unconditional love for her daughters in every way, treating them with a respect and equality that not many parents give their children. The girls saw the truth in her winsome blue eyes.

"It was an honour," her husband said. The King had waited for this day and planned what he would say when it came; sooner than he expected, yet he knew both Anna and Elsa were unusually intelligent for their age. "I still love you like my own daughter, Elsa. Nothing's changed." He hugged her and Anna together.

And nothing had changed. Elsa still saw him as her father, since her Divine one had not shown himself. The knowledge added something extra to her already wonderful family, but it was easy to forget; Elsa's half-Divinity did not show itself beyond healing cuts and scrapes a little faster, and maybe giving her a little more grace than her mortal sister.

Anna had always known Elsa was special, gifted with cleverness, creativity and beauty... It just made sense that she was half a goddess. Anna thought Elsa was amazing, and loved her so much. Elsa loved Anna, too, her red-haired sister, beautiful, charming and bold... To find out they were not full siblings did not alter that love: they were sisters bound by blood even so.

The two girls did not need to think what Elsa's immortality implied, they did not need to consider death and old age, distant threats that time would bring to separate them; they were young and loved, Elsa and Anna had everything and both were identical in their love for one another.

* * *

Anna opened her eyes when their kiss ceased, parting her lips from her sister's with a soft, moist sound. The sight her lids revealed was one of which she could never tire; Elsa's face close to hers, flushed and smiling, her golden lashes glinting.

 _How can someone so beautiful be my sister?_  Anna had often asked herself, until she did not question it anymore, simply accepted that Elsa was hers and she was Elsa's with an unutterable gladness.

Elsa had eyes as blue as the fjord in the morning sun, eyes that looked at her with pure adoration and enrapturement, sparking more of the same emotions from Anna. That Elsa would look at her this way, that Elsa let Anna touch her body... It was so amazing she just had to do it again, even if they were already touching. Her leg was draped over Elsa's and had been all through the embrace they shared in the warm haze after making love, letting her hold her sister closer. Now Anna wanted more.

She lowered her hand to stroke Elsa's naked skin, over the snow-white curves of her side, the sublimity of her waist and hips. Anna sighed with happiness at the feeling, the softness, the smoothness of Elsa's body, loving the mirth her own joy caused in her sister.

Leaning in, she kissed Elsa's face, lips pressing love onto her cheeks, rounded with her smile, her perfect nose, her noble brow. Anna stroked her own nose over that one bit of hair which always somehow ended up resting on her forehead, no matter what Elsa did with the rest of her tresses, whether she wore them in a braid, an elegant chignon or loose like they were now, cascading around her shoulders and down her back. And whatever Elsa did with her hair, those locks of lightest blonde looked lovely.

Elsa wrapped Anna in her soft and slender arms and guided her onto her back. Anna loved it when Elsa leaned over her like this, she loved it when Elsa kissed her this way, slowly moving her mouth on top of Anna's, encouraging her own lips to awaken in passion; Elsa traced them with her tongue before she pulled away.

The look her sister gave her was so tender, blue eyes under lowered lids, golden eyebrows softly angling upwards, lips curved in a half-smile. Elsa's touch was just as tender, her warm palm stroking Anna's shoulder, making her skin sing and a shiver of bliss run up her spine.

Anna soon had to look away from her sister's loving expression, she was distracted by another kiss. Elsa melded their lips together skilfully, drawing a sigh from Anna as she closed her eyes, renewing that connection, so deep and so sweet...

Their breasts pressed together when Elsa lowered herself, her thigh fitting between Anna's like it belonged there; the sisters shared the start of one of the most euphoric experiences possible: the heat and softness of two women's bodies joining, soulmates meeting in the flesh.

* * *

The sisters' beautiful bodies had blossomed together, but although Elsa was only older by mere minutes, Anna seemed and felt much younger for a time. She had bloomed later, as if a season behind her sister, yet she did not remain so for long and while she remained behind, Anna observed the changes in her sister's body with curiosity.

Elsa grew breasts, they grew so quickly and so full that soon her sister had to get new clothes and underwear. Anna liked to watch them bounce when she ran or jumped, and sneak glances at them when she and Elsa bathed or dressed or slept together naked. Elsa's breasts were soft and round, they pressed into Anna's chest when the two girls hugged, and sometimes she could feel her sister's nipples harden, which made her stomach do somersaults.

Anna watched Elsa become more beautiful each day. Her hips developed to curve and complete her flawless figure, and in between her sister's hips, where her thighs met, grew a patch of hair, a fine golden down, slightly darker than the hair on Elsa's head. When Anna had looked at Elsa then, she knew her sister was not a girl anymore but a beautiful woman in every way.

She admired the features of Elsa's form and waited - not always patiently - for her own to match, thrilling when she began to change, too. Anna compared her body with her sister's when they saw one another unclothed, looking at the shape and size of their feminine forms, content when she saw the same admiration in Elsa's eyes. They were still different - Elsa was taller, her breasts fuller, with skin as white as snow instead of freckled - yet Anna celebrated the unique young women she and her sister had become.

The rhythm of their bodies synchronised with womanhood. Elsa felt glad that Anna had joined her and loved the changes time had brought them; now her sister's lap was soft when she laid her head upon it, now their embraces were even softer. Elsa was united with her sister in the warmest love, but soon affection changed to something else. With a woman's body came a woman's needs.

Anna and Elsa had always loved each other, and they were sixteen when they discovered the depth of that love.

The sisters had undressed to go to bed, as always, and sat together before putting out the lights.

"Goodnight." Anna gazed at Elsa in the mellow lamplight.

"Goodnight, Anna," she replied, and leaned in to kiss her sister on the mouth, something they did every night, feeling somehow... safer, calmer after doing so.

That night, Anna had continued, trying something new, wanting to be closer. She held her lips there, kissing Elsa for longer than ever, and placed her hand on Elsa's thigh, the firm flesh wonderful under her fingers.

To her delight, Elsa returned the kiss, covering Anna's hand with her own, surrounding Anna's palm in her warmth, her mouth caressing Anna's just as fervently.

Both their mouths opened, sharing the wetness of each other, between Elsa's lips tasted sweet and Anna could have kept kissing her sister like that forever; from the hums of contented pleasure she heard, she knew Elsa felt the same.

Anna pulled back, her lips now moist, to see Elsa looking at her with half-lidded eyes, smiling, a blush beginning to colour her cheeks. She gently raised her hand to touch Anna's face, brushing her thumb over her sister's blushing cheek and the freckles Anna knew she adored.

The hand she had rested on Elsa's thigh was free and she stroked it up her sister's side, following it with her eyes as she moved up the wonder of Elsa's body.

Her sister sat there, bright with royal beauty. Anna had looked at her, yet never touched Elsa like this, and she wondered why she had left it until now to try, because Elsa seemed to enjoy it, a lot. Her blue eyes watched her sister's hand stroke over her hips and waist.

The sensation of Elsa's snowy skin was like heaven on her fingertips; the smoothness, the heat of her, feeling the movement of Elsa's breath and heartbeat, the subtle shift of her sister's muscles when she sighed and relaxed all made Anna's own heart thump faster.

Anna had wordlessly moved around to Elsa's back, glad both were so at ease that they did not need to speak, because there were no words to describe the loveliness of her sister.

Down her back hung Elsa's blonde braid, long enough to reach her waist. Elsa's braided hair was thick and luxurious, Anna wrapped a hand loosely around it, feeling the silky softness and the weight when she lifted it, draping it over Elsa's shoulder and out of the way.

Now she was free to run her fingertips all the way down her sister's spine, the pale and shapely plain of her back. Elsa sat up straighter and Anna felt her shiver, heard her sigh, and smiled to herself.

The curves of her waist and hips received Anna's caresses next, every area of her womanly flesh was perfectly smooth and Anna regretted once again that she had not tried this earlier, had lived all her life without knowing how wonderful it felt to touch the skin of her sister who was always by her side.

She returned her hands up Elsa's spine, pressing her palms flat against the back of her ribs, feeling her sister's slender figure, though she was far from fragile, Anna knew the power Elsa had been blessed with.

Lingering at her shoulders, Anna saw her sister smile and lean her head towards her hand, Elsa's expression one of pure bliss with closed eyes and flushed cheeks. A blush of pride arose on Anna's face, to have made Elsa feel so good by simply touching her skin, but she felt it, too; that what they were doing was more than just touching, they were connecting intensely, and they had only reached the beginning.

She moved around again, needing that connection she felt when seeing Elsa's face, and at the sight of her sister's eyes, now open and so very blue, Anna found some words that almost did her justice. "You're beautiful, Elsa."

Not breaking the contact of their skin, Anna leaned on Elsa's lap, feeling the hum of her voice in reply while she rested her hand upon her sister's pale white throat.

"Thank you."

She looked at Anna with adoring eyes, watching her slender fingers feel her elegant collar bones, tracing right down to her navel, dipping the tip of her finger into the small hollow, making Elsa grin with how much Anna admired her whole body.

Anna grinned back, and the sisters seemed to share all of their inner thoughts in smiles and glances, not needing words to express their love, and words would have lessened the wonder Anna felt, appreciating every sight and sound of their bodies together; the soft, smooth whisper of her fingertips on Elsa's skin, her sister's breath and her own.

She lowered her eyes and hands to the contours of Elsa's hips, equally lovely from this side of Elsa's body, and now Anna could see her sister's golden curls in the light. Bringing her fingers even lower, Anna brushed them just lightly enough to feel the short hairs between Elsa's thighs.

Her sister's breath shivered and she shifted her hips on the bed, then Anna retraced her hands' trail over Elsa's smooth stomach to feel its softness again, except now, her touch gave Elsa goosebumps. When Anna looked up, her sister's nipples had stiffened and protruded, pink as her blushing cheeks. Anna looked up some more and saw Elsa looking back, right into her eyes, and though they still didn't speak, she knew Elsa would not tell her to stop if she did what she desired to do right now, and that Elsa wanted it, too.

She touched her sister's breasts as she had yearned to do for years since they first appeared. Elsa's soft flesh filled her hands, swelling slightly through the gaps between her fingers. Unfamiliar feelings fluttering in her stomach, Anna cupped and lifted their soft warmth, squeezing gently while a hum passed Elsa's lips. Anna could sense her sister liked her touch very much.

Obeying her urges of curiosity, she pressed Elsa's nipples, hard against her fingertips, and the skin around them, velvet-soft when Anna stroked with circling touches.

"Anna..."

Her sister's voice broke the almost mesmerising bond that had joined them in the pleasure of touching and being touched this way. Anna felt Elsa's sighing breath on her brow and lifted her gaze to her sister's face, Elsa's blue eyes locking with hers the moment she did, her gold lashes lowered, her mouth open and her lips red. She glanced down from those beloved eyes and saw her own nipples had gone hard, too, and an ache awoke in them. "Do it for me," Anna said. Her hands left Elsa's heavenly breasts, with some reluctance, and settled on her shoulders instead, as Anna moved to straddle her sister.

Elsa brought her hands up to cup Anna's breasts when she lowered herself onto her lap, and her heartbeat quickened, spreading heat to every corner of Elsa's body, combining with the warmth of Anna on her hands and thighs. The sensations of her sister this close were simply sublime; her breath, her comfortable weight, her soft flesh...

Despite the tingling in her core and breasts, Elsa did not find it difficult to concentrate on discovering where and how Anna liked to be touched. Her sister's tender breasts yielded in her palms, the skin of Elsa's hands pale against her freckles, slender fingers searching for spots of sensitivity.

Anna had no idea how good it would feel, her sister's thumbs pressed down on her nipples, sending little shockwaves of pleasure from the stiffened flesh, like Elsa could do magic... To know this was what Elsa had felt when she did the same was just as amazing as the sensation itself, and a moan escaped from Anna's mouth, too loud and sudden for her to stop it.

While Elsa fondled her breasts, Anna could feel herself getting wet down below, between her legs; she wondered if Elsa felt it on her lap, wondered if Elsa's own womanhood felt wet because of what they were doing. Anna knew they could do more together, yet did not complain when Elsa's hands parted from her breasts, and her sister encircled Anna in her arms to hold her in a sweet embrace.

Instead, Anna kissed her, feeling that fluttering again as the warmth and softness increased between them, and Elsa kissed her back, deepening their caresses with every moment. She slipped her tongue between Elsa's lips, her sister's mouth yielding only too willingly; Elsa's tongue touched hers, sending Anna into an ecstasy of closeness she hoped they could reach again and again, forever.

But it was late and the young Princesses were tired. They let their speeding breaths and heartbeats slow and lay down to sleep, side by side and hand in hand.

And the next night, they had continued. The next night, they began to express their love in a way Elsa and Anna had never dreamed would be so wonderful, and a way they continued to do so ever since, as often as they could.

It had started with Elsa touching her sister the same way she had been caressed the night before. Anna lay on her stomach, sighing with the sensation of Elsa's soft fingers.

Elsa worshipped her body, she had looked forward to this all day, a time when she and Anna were alone together, remaining undisturbed in the privacy of their room, and she could show the same appreciation that Anna had shown her.

She ran her fingers down Anna's back, lingering at her hips and pressing her thumbs into her dimples, unique features that Elsa loved, yet they made her different from her sister, since she did not possess any herself.

Elsa's hands then passed over the curves of her backside, and she placed a kiss on each cheek, satisfied that she had shown her adoration of Anna's beautiful form for now, but Elsa wanted to return to the freckles on her sister's shoulders, which she had  _almost_  decided were her favourite parts of Anna's body, though the choice was impossible for Elsa to truly make; all of Anna's being, her body and soul, was simply too perfect for Elsa to choose a single feature she loved the most.

Anna sighed again - she couldn't seem to stop the exultant exhalations from leaving her lips when her sister touched her like this - and shivered to feel Elsa's breath on the back of her neck, lingering before she kissed Anna's shoulders.

She rolled over to see her sister's face, Elsa's slender arms on either side of Anna, holding her body above; she could see her pale, pink-tipped breasts almost touching her own. Elsa lowered her lips to Anna's in a kiss that would have been brief, but Anna kept her there, running her fingers through her sister's hair to pull her down until their bodies met, their breasts pressed each other, both sisters moaning as they entwined.

Still, the kiss did not last long, and with a sigh, Elsa parted from her, lifting herself, shifting her hips to sit at her side. Anna watched Elsa watching her own fingertips trail slowly over her freckled clavicle, her breasts, down past her stomach to touch lightly between Anna's thighs; Elsa kept her hand there, lightly brushing her sister's curls.

She stroked the soft ginger hair to the sound of Anna's heavy breath, wondering. Elsa thought of the times when she had woken at night, hot and aching inside, only able to calm herself by rubbing the wetness between her thighs while Anna slept on beside her. "Have you ever touched yourself here?" she asked.

"No. Have you?" Anna's eyes were fixed on her with complete attention and adoration. She could only tell the truth in reply to her beloved sister's question, and that green-blue gaze.

"A little. It feels... nice." Elsa's face reddened with a blush.

Something about her sister's expression made Anna more curious than ever before; it had sometimes crossed her mind to explore her body there, yet she never had. Though now to hear that Elsa had tried it, and liked it, decided Anna's next words for her. It was something private, and because Anna shared everything else with Elsa, she wanted to share this with her sister, too. "Will you touch me, Elsa? I want you to."

That part of her already felt a little different, it tingled in anticipation of Elsa's touch; a new feeling, a kind of excitement in the whole of her lower body.

Elsa's face grew hot and a jolt of arousal struck her centre to know she was about to discover the sweet, wet secret of Anna's body. She watched Anna open her legs, revealing her inner lips like the petals of a flower wet with nectar, glistening in the light, her scent as sweet as honey.

Her sister was warm, there between her thighs. Elsa stroked her slowly, exploring, seeing the secret parts she had only touched on herself. Anna's womanhood was beautiful, wet on her fingers, and to the sound of her own breathing, slow and loud, Elsa found the sensitive bud within Anna's folds and pressed it.

She tensed, and at her gasp, Elsa paused, lifting her gaze immediately to gauge Anna's reaction. She saw Anna's stiff nipples, her breasts heaving with her panting breaths, Elsa looked at her mouth, lips open and moist, her face flushed. When their gazes met, Elsa had to check that the emotions she saw in her sister's eyes were genuine, had to make sure Anna knew if she didn't like it, there was no pressure to continue.

"Anna..." she leaned in to kiss her sister, and Anna kissed back hungrily, relaxing Elsa's concern, but she still needed to say the words. "We can stop this any time - "

"I don't want you to stop, Elsa!" came her whispered reply. She thrust herself up to Elsa's fingers, showing her sister what she needed.

Elsa stroked the little nub some more, making Anna moan and clutch her shoulders, her fingers digging into Elsa's skin, her eyes closing with the passion she felt, a passion Elsa was proud to inspire in her sister. Keeping her movements gentle, Elsa lowered her fingers through Anna's folds, their hot breaths mingling in the space between their faces, and, looking right into Anna's eyes, eased a single finger into her core.

Anna smiled and sighed, flushing more fervently, her breath quickening even faster than before. Touching inside her like this was the closest Elsa could get to her sister, and she felt closer still when she slid a second finger into Anna. She was so  _wet_ , and the heat of her seemed to spread to Elsa's whole body. Elsa stroked within Anna, knowing something amazing was about to happen between them.

Elsa's slender, elegant fingers  _in_  her in this most intimate way were more wonderful than anything Anna could have imagined. They fitted inside so perfectly, Elsa's touch slowly probing, feeling inner secrets that Anna herself had not even discovered, until they brushed one spot...

Her toes clenched, sounds she had never made before bust from her, so loud Anna almost didn't recognise the voice as her own. "There!" she said breathlessly once she could talk again. "Keep going..." Anna ended in a whimper when Elsa pressed, curling her fingers on that area of pleasure inside her.

Elsa watched her sister arch her back, suddenly aware of her own needs arising, a throbbing in her core. She spread her thighs wider, over Anna's leg, and took her free hand from her sister's waist, bringing it down into the heat of her own slit, circling her hardened bud to the same rhythm of movement she maintained with her other hand, and with fingers just as wet.

Even while Elsa stroked, making Anna writhe beneath her, her sister saw - through the haze of passion - a way to connect them even more. Anna's hand replaced hers, thrusting two fingers up into her, and a moan of love in the rawest form released itself from her mouth as Anna moved them, pushing them further inside to fill her. Elsa leaned over her sister, bucking her hips to their shared pace.

The sisters gazed into each other's eyes, blue and teal together, floating away into and with one another. Doubly joined, Elsa and Anna's bodies merged in oneness. They felt complete, and in elation they ascended to the blissful sensations they brought each other; the sisters' inner muscles clenched on their fingers and they tightened, shuddered together in indescribable pleasure for the first time.

Elsa rolled onto her side once it had passed, lying next to her sister on the bed. Anna's fingers were very wet when she eased them out of Elsa, and they held hands, blending their wetness together.

"Are you all right?" Elsa asked her, with wide eyes and an expression of earnest concern.

"I've never been better," Anna replied, and her sister's face relaxed, smiling at her. "Now I'm whole: I'm part of you and you're part of me."

"I feel it, too!" Elsa squeezed their interlaced fingers.

"I love you." Anna had to say it, she always liked to say those words, even if she always knew the reply she would get;  _especially_  because of the reply.

"And I love you."

Elsa had kissed her then, pure passion and love in that press of her lips; Anna remembered that kiss in every one they had shared since.

From then on, they explored. Each sister learned the other's taste, and her own, discovering with delight that they were almost identical. Elsa and Anna studied every little surface of each other's bodies, finding they were different both outside and inside; the subtle difference in the size of their secret lips, the textures of their wetness, their difference in sensitivity; a spot that made Elsa moan and shiver with just a touch might not do the same for Anna, or it was in a different place on her own body.

And there were so many ways for the sisters to share their intense connection, to bring each other to bliss. The most powerful one they found was to lie entwined, Elsa's sex rubbing Anna's, their essences mixing together at the source, face to flushing face, their gazes interlocked, panting breaths meeting; a duet of moans sounding around as their bodies thrust and writhed.

It was a secret for only them to hold, the sisters knew instinctively they should keep it just between the two of them, but it never crossed their minds that it might be seen as wrong for sisters to be so close; it was the most natural thing for Elsa and Anna, expressing their love in their unique way. When no one else was looking, they kissed, and the sisters always held hands, never straying far from one another's sight.

* * *

Elsa opened her eyes now to see Anna's were still closed, showing her ginger lashes and delicate lids. They opened a heartbeat after hers, giving Elsa a swirl of pleasure inside at the sight of those green-blue orbs, and the press of Anna's breasts on hers, the feel of their fingers laced together, their tongues still stroking each other... Anna and Elsa's bodies were close, their souls entwined, unable to tell them apart, unable to extract one from the other, not even when Elsa parted their mouths to speak.

"We'll always be together, you and me," she murmured with moist lips against her sister's mouth, before planting a kiss on her smile.

They could never truly be separated. If not physically together, each sister could  _feel_  the other, an awareness on the edge of her senses. It had been so since their birth. Elsa had been born first, but even in those few minutes they were not completely apart, Anna had arrived in the world after, holding onto Elsa's foot. When babes, they had cried unceasingly if parted; only side by side could they have peace and calm.

It was still the same years later, Elsa and Anna felt that now, complete serenity as they lay together, though not to sleep. It was day outside, yet they lay in the bed they had always shared - so many memories made here with each other - just for a little longer.

Every night, the sisters slept curled up together. When one woke, the other was always there, her warmth, her breath deep and steady, her face flinching in her dreams, and sometimes the sound of her mumbled words...

"Are you not tired?" Elsa had once asked. Anna had gone to bed before her, yet she had lain with her eyes open, watching Elsa read. It was late at night and she had wanted to finish a chapter, sitting by the window to read in the moonlight so she would not disturb her sister. "You don't have to wait."

"I can't sleep until you're lying next to me."

At Anna's words, Elsa put her book down, forgotten because she realised she felt the same; she had never slept without Anna by her side. Elsa lay beside her and felt immediately at ease, everything, every other worry and want disappearing now she was close to her sister.

Anna had rolled over to face her. "Never leave me, Elsa."

Elsa smiled at the sweetness of her unexpected words. "I could  _never_  leave you. I promise, Anna, I will stay by your side forever." They had embraced, her sister's warmth and breath lulling the other to sleep.

Anna and Elsa always slept like that. Their parents had got rid of the second bed in their shared room, since it was simply never used, not even once.

To define the nature of the sisters' intimate bond was impossible. Their parents did not question their daughters, they knew the girls were happy and that to them was more important than anything else. Their mother and father only came close to discussing it with them once when Elsa and Anna were eighteen.

They had stood before their parents holding hands, waiting to see what was wanted of them, why they had been brought away from their time alone together.

"Now, girls," the Queen had said. "Do you want to find husbands? You'll both be of age soon, I can send for the matchmaker and we can start looking right away - "

"No!" Anna and Elsa had said in unison.

"We want to live together..." Elsa began.

"Forever!" Anna finished for her.

Their father smiled. "I can see you don't need anybody else to complete your lives. No one can love either of you as well as you both love each other."

"I wanted to be sure," their mother said. "But my heart already knew your answer. Elsa and Anna..." She placed a loving hand on their shoulders. "Anyone who could separate you two would have to be heartless to stop your happiness. I'm proud my girls love each other so much." Their mother embraced them then, holding them to her soft, comforting form.

"And I'm proud to know and love the three most beautiful women in the world," the King had said, and wrapped his strong arms around them all.

The family hugged together for a time; Elsa and Anna had opened their eyes and looked at one another, thinking of their secret and how lucky they were that nobody had interrupted their love.

And nobody did, not even Hans.

Anna had met the young man while out on her horse with Elsa one day. Elsa watched them, though did not interfere; Anna never strayed far, and she simply spoke with him, nothing more.

It went on for days, then weeks. "Do you like Hans?" Elsa asked, and had lamented the fact that she could not share her sister's thoughts, yet her heart told her not to worry.

"Hans is just a friend," she said. "I'll always love you best, Elsa." Anna had kissed her forehead and put her mind at ease.

She knew her friendship with Hans had to stop when he said he loved her.

In truth, it was not love he felt for Anna but a lust, and not even for Anna herself, it was for what she owned and represented as the Princess of Arendelle; an easier target for his plans than her twin sister, who never spoke to him apart from to exchange stilted pleasantries, whose blue eyes went cold when she looked at him.

"Anna, I just told you I love you," Hans had said, after she did not reply.

"I know, Hans. I don't love you. There's already someone special in my life," she said, calmly and simply.

"Who?" His demand was the exact opposite of calm.

They had wandered away from Elsa that afternoon, and Anna felt her absence keenly, the longing imbued her with an eloquence, which she expressed in her reply. "My sister. I can't explain it..." He looked puzzled; he would never understand,  _no one_  would, though something told Anna to try and express it, to make him leave them alone. "I like you, but my feelings for you are like the trees in the forest: time will change them as winter changes the leaves. And my love for Elsa is like the glacier at the mountains' base: never fading, and necessary for so many reasons. In a way, I  _am_  Elsa, she's always here." Anna pointed to her brow. "In my head and heart, all the time." She kept her hand pressed to the centre of her chest. "Whatever our souls are made of, my sister's and mine are the same, and yours is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire. So don't talk of me loving you, Hans, I can't."

And that was that.

Anna had come close, though to explain the nature of her spiritual and physical bond with Elsa was beyond the ability of words. It scared Hans; he hesitated before considering what to do next about the sisters.

Although they still saw him around the city, it looked like Hans would stay out of their lives for good. Elsa and Anna were glad, and had no more interruptions.

However, one sadness was woven into Anna and Elsa's destiny, a tragedy so deep that when it came to pass, their bliss did stop, until the hurt healed.

Their parents were lost at sea when visiting abroad, leaving the sisters to rule Arendelle alone. Yet they were not truly alone; Elsa still had her father - Divine, unseen by her - and she and Anna had each other.

The twin Queens prepared to rule the land together; Elsa was rightly the Queen Regnant, being older, but all knew that the sisters worked as a pair; there could not be one without the other.

Anna and Elsa consulted each other in everything and always acted jointly; the sisters shared a dedication, a dependence on each other to fulfil all their needs, and together they were ideally suited to rule. Their love gave them the power to come to terms with their parents' deaths and rule Arendelle together when they came of age at twenty-one.

The young Queens showed generosity and kindness to their subjects, managing the law and land with fairness and love; their justice and piety won them fame throughout the world. With her sister by her side, anything was possible for Elsa and Anna.

* * *

It had been so for a year, and Anna and her sister couldn't be happier. She left the bed and Elsa's side, shivering with pleasure at the lingering touches imploring her to stay.

Looking in the floor-length mirror, Anna smoothed her mussed red hair, taming the tangles. Her dishevelled morning mane was a sight Elsa loved - knowing  _she_  had been the one to cause most of those tangles - though the rest of the world might not understand if Anna showed up looking like this, so she combed through her hair with her fingers until it flowed almost smoothly to her waist, ready to be brushed and braided.

Elsa soon followed, summoned to her side by their bond. Anna saw her in the mirror, her beautiful sister beside her; her beautiful sister, tall and fair... She began to trail her soft hands over Anna's freckles.

Anna sighed with the touch and looked at their bodies next to one another, naked and gorgeous; subtle variances in their skin tones, pale pink and snow-white, different eye and hair colours, different heights and figures - some of these differences only truly perceptible to eyes as attuned to each other's forms as Elsa and Anna's were - yet matching lovebites on their necks, matching smiles and love in their eyes.

Anna stood closer and turned, pressing their breasts together, she could see the size difference clearly, yet ignored it with the sensation of their soft flesh melding, their nipples stiffening as they pressed. She placed her hands on Elsa's elegant hips, holding her sister even closer.

The moan Elsa gave her, the caresses she bestowed on her face were all tender, gentle and so, so loving, like everything Elsa ever did for her; she cherished Anna and was cherished by her. To show how much she adored her sister, Anna laced her fingers behind Elsa's waist, feeling Elsa's own hands on her face, cupping her cheeks, and with quickening desire, lifted herself up to kiss her sister's lips.

She felt equal adoration in Elsa's kiss, as she knew she would, and Anna's mouth opened to her, accepting her tongue in to meet her own, moaning with the wonderful sensation of joining with her beloved sister; the feeling of Elsa's fingers stroking circles on her spine, growing lower with every caress, the sound of Elsa's shivering breath after she broke their kiss, Elsa's voice low with newly re-awoken desire...

"Let's go back to bed."

Anna smiled, her grin so wide she could see it in her reflection from the corner of her eye. As much as she loved being with Elsa and knowing how much Elsa loved her, too, as much as she needed Elsa and Elsa needed her, Anna also knew the outside world needed them as well. "We can't spend all day inside. Don't you want to see the sun?"

"My sun's here, and my moon and sky," Elsa said softly, holding Anna's face again.

"Elsa..."

Her sister's kiss almost convinced Anna, though eventually they forced themselves to dress and leave their room, attending to some minor royal duties before greeting the fresh air and fjords of Arendelle.

One of the sisters' favourite ways to appreciate their land was on horseback, racing through the forests and feeling that fresh air of their country in their faces, braids trailing behind and laughing voices carried on the breeze. That day they went up to the lower slopes of the mountains to see the glades that could be found there, in the full bloom of summer.

But they were watched. Evil had bided its time and sought to separate the sisters. Hans followed, and, knowing their innocence, preyed on them.

The sisters admired nature's glory, the flowers and trees in all colours and shades of green. Their horses wandered. Anna and Elsa did not worry, they would find them eventually, and if not, the walk back to the city wasn't far.

Seeing Hans appear from within the trees surprised the sisters, yet they did not feel troubled. He had found their horses and led them to their royal owners, smiling, stroking the animals' noses.

As Hans was kind to animals, he was cruel to humans, infinitely cruel.

Elsa and Anna had their backs turned, each sister engrossed in different beauties of nature, and the moment had come for everything to change.

Hans drew his sword, the noise rang out around him though he tried to silence it. He could not silence the horses, who heard the sound and, sensing his evil, screamed and broke free of their tethers.

Anna heard the noise, too, and moved to look. What she saw turned the blood to ice in her veins. Hans held his drawn sword, the metal shining in the sunlight, stalking towards Elsa, smiling with anticipation.

Her sister hadn't heard from across the glade, hadn't seen. Anna ran, and Hans raised his sword high. She called out just in time. "No!"

This time Elsa heard - the sound of Anna's voice could never fail to reach her ears - this time she saw and gasped in fright, leaping away.

In that instant, Hans turned to a closer target. He struck with hatred and frustration at the woman who had foiled him, he struck Anna instead of Elsa, and her sister ran to catch her as she fell.

Anna's life leaked out into her arms, staining her clothes. She saw Hans lunge at her next, his blade red with her sister's blood, and Elsa almost didn't care if he killed her; she cradled Anna in her arms.

Hans did not kill her, could not, for Elsa was half-Divine and protected by powers she did not expect to intervene as they did. A thunderbolt crashed down from the sky, hitting Hans, hurling him back, and when the otherworldly light had faded from around him, there was nothing left except smoke.

The noise deafened Elsa for a moment, and when the ringing in her ears had ceased, she was aware of a sound, which at any other time would be soft and soothing. Rain fell like tears from the clouds suddenly in the sky that had been blue only seconds ago. It put out the smoking ashes that had once been Hans, it fell on Elsa, and it fell on Anna's face lying in her lap, looking like tears on her freckled skin, darkening her red hair. But her sister's precious body was broken.

"Anna!" With the breath she spent crying out her sister's name went the last of Elsa's hope. Her next breath shook with agony. A pain in her heart like nothing Elsa had ever felt before racked her whole being, consuming her. Accompanying it came a terrifying, paralysing feeling unknown to her until that moment: the feeling of being alone, growing as Anna faded, destroying her.

Elsa looked up into the vortex of falling rain overhead, her desperate voice rose above the storm. "Father! I've never asked you for anything, but I ask you this now: please let me share my gift of everlasting life with Anna. Bring her back and make me whole again."

She ended her plea and her Divine father, the Chief of the Gods, came and spoke words in Elsa's mind. His presence was all around, omnipotent and omniscient.

"The heavens have already opened for you, Elsa. You are my daughter, yet you shared your mother's womb with your mortal sister, the daughter of her father, a King only of men; Anna is not Divine and her time has come."

A panic took over Elsa's mind, though her father had not finished.

"But this choice I will give you, Elsa: if it is your will to dwell beside my throne in the realm above, freed from death, it shall be so, or if, from your love for your sister, you desire to share all things with her, as you always have, then half your days you both shall spend beneath the earth and half within the golden citadels of heaven, eternally by each other's sides."

Elsa answered at once. "Half my gift is better than the whole, divide the life reserved for me between the two of us. Give me back my Anna!"

Selflessly, Elsa put Anna's needs before hers in an act of True Love; Anna had told her sister never to leave her, and Elsa didn't intend to.

She knelt in that freezing silence for seconds, waiting for a change. Thunder rumbled again, loud enough to shake the ground.

Anna opened her eyes, feeling like she had just woken from a dream. She saw her sister above and clung to her. "Elsa!"

Elsa had prayed, she had trusted in the Divines and they had made her wish come to pass, as she knew they would. "Anna!"

Their lips united in a kiss, a kiss so sweet, filled with relief and  _love_ , and with that kiss, the sisters' spirits ascended together, rising up above the world, higher than the mountains and the clouds.

Elsa and Anna were good and innocent, their souls containing a pure adoration for each other which meant they could never be apart. They were united together in the heavens, sisters of mutual True Love, living among the stars and their fellow Divines as everlasting and immortal goddesses; the two brightest stars, shining together. Such was Elsa's half, full of immortal, heavenly delights.

Anna's half they spent in the realm of mortal death, reunited with their parents in the hall of their ancestors, as grey and faded ghosts for every other day in the underworld.

Though their love remained unfading. Elsa and Anna were always together and no matter where they were, there in each other's arms, the sisters had true paradise.


	20. Leda II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought the story needed completion since there was more to the original myth. The next chapter is the final one. I hope you've enjoyed reading these stories as much as I enjoyed writing them.

Anna held the feather to her lips, tickling her soft pink skin with the lightest touch. She let her fingertips stroke the smooth white span of it, a habit she had developed since the day she picked it up, a day Anna would never forget for so many reasons...

She thought of the feather's beauty and strength, the swan it must have helped to fly, how it remained unchanged and undamaged despite her caresses; Anna carried it under her dress, between her breasts during the day, placed it under her pillow when she slept, stroking it every morning and night, remembering.

Her memories stayed unchanged, too. Memories of those moments remained like footprints in the snow, resounding inside her mind, finding their way into her dreams. Dreams so vivid Anna would wake up touching herself, as if her body was desperate to recreate a sensation close to what she had felt and recalled. When conscious of her actions, Anna continued, rubbing herself in wetness and in want, shuddering in her bed alone, those light late summer early mornings, dreaming those memory-dreams.

The beating rhythm of that heart, loud when she had lain on her lover's flawless white chest, stayed echoing in her ears; Anna's pounded alone now, to a rhythm she liked to think they still shared, wherever that woman was... Anna swore she could taste those lips on hers, honey-sweet and with a hungry tongue... The whiteness of the woman's hands caressing her... How Anna had bent her glistening body towards her lover's, shining bright with water droplets, freckles and snowy-whiteness together in a union of damp flesh.

Her lover was powerful and strange to make Anna remember her so perfectly in intense memories, visions cast by the spell of their bodies, their moans, their sighs...

After she had lifted herself from the bank of the fjord that day, after she had felt that love - for she  _knew_  it had been love, more than just pure passion - Anna's heart was empty, like part of herself had strayed. She had done nothing but try to find her lover for the next few days, looking by the fjord and in the forest, in the villages around, asking about a beautiful woman, tall and fair with stunning blue eyes, though no one had seen her or heard of whom she spoke. And Anna only saw the woman in her dreams.

The dreams came to her every night now. It had never been like that before, night-time visions and sensations had always been like special events before that day, and now every time she slept she would dream beautiful, powerful dreams, always of her lover, yet Anna had only seen her once.

There were swans in her dreams, too, although Anna could explain their presence easily. She still saw them every day on the fjord when she bathed, and after when she stood clothed upon the shore, lingering for as long as she could, waiting. Anna watched the swans swim in their pairs, saw how their necks formed a heart when they touched, together forever, and she was alone...

But never did she see the swan from her dreams, the one she had swam with and stroked the day before her lover came.

The dreams gave Anna the company she craved, and although she slept longer, more often than ever, nothing eased the tiredness Anna felt, and soon she grew so weary and so ill that she even had to stop visiting the fjord.

Anna guessed she must have got sick from swallowing the water. Each morning found her feeling terrible, and there was no way she could swim or eat or leave her bed. But it was not just her stomach, all Anna's body ached, especially her breasts; they had turned tender and were growing, making her clothes too tight; she thought she was old enough for her body to have stopped changing, yet it seemed she was wrong.

One day when she felt fresher, Anna took a walk around the land her family owned. She always liked to visit the farm and the houses of the folk who worked there, some of whom had become her friends, and the air and sights and sounds of the land left Anna more cheerful than she had felt in a long time. At least until she spoke to her friend Kristoff, one of the farmhands, and saw him glancing at her figure.

Anna looked at it herself when she returned, studying her body in the mirror. Her breasts bulged over the top of her dress, they would have done anyway since it was summer and she wore low-cut clothes to keep herself cool, though they were different, definitely fuller... Her face had a glow about it, too, not like that of a fever, despite her recent illness. But the weather was warm, and Anna blushed easily - rarely was her face without at least a hint of redness - so she dismissed it. However, the discomfort didn't stop, like growing pains, coming both day and night; she knew she had to visit the village healer.

Anna sat opposite the woman, patiently and honestly answering her questions. She had felt like this for a couple of months. Yes, she was eating just the same as always, but had put on weight. Yes, her back was aching, too. No, Anna realised now that she hadn't bled for a long time...

The healer asked to touch her, felt and prodded her stomach painfully, then looked at Anna and said matter-of-factly, "You're going to have a baby, two by the size of you. Make sure you stay healthy, come back if there's anything wrong. And you should tell whoever is responsible; he has a right to know."

Anna stared into space, mouth agape. Her lover was a  _woman_ , Anna had squeezed her breasts, slid her fingers inside her and felt the secret heat and wetness of her womanhood. And she had done the same to Anna with a hot tongue, with skilled and slender fingers. They had made each other shudder...

It was not possible, yet she had no choice but to believe. Anna walked in shock to the temple - the place she knew she'd find some peace - and knelt at the shrine.  _Look after me, don't leave me alone like she did. Please, Divines..._  she prayed silently, looking up at the statues, every one in turn, her gaze lingering on the mother goddess she hoped would guide her.

That gave Anna a little more courage, enough to tell her own mother. And her first reaction was to demand who had done it.

"I can't say," Anna replied. And she couldn't, because she did not know who the woman was, had not seen her since and missed her sorely. The emotions all welled up inside, spilling out of Anna's eyes.

Their daughter's tears did not lessen her parents' anger. They looked at her as if she was a stranger, and it was true that part of her was indeed a stranger to them, the part that kept secrets.

For every day after, Anna felt thankful that they did not abandon her, though there was a new distance between them, in their eyes, in their voices, their rarer touches. Her parents were not the only ones to treat her differently. The news travelled fast and soon, when Anna's stomach began to swell and show beneath her clothes, she received stares on the streets of the town, the sound of whispers behind her back.

Anna and her mother spoke, stiltedly though with love and care beneath their words and glances. They talked of the future, a subject that made Anna tremble with fear, and mutually agreed that she should go to Gerda, a wisewoman who lived in the forest. Her mother said it would be a quiet, safe place for Anna where she could hide her shame. Yet Anna was not ashamed - she was many things: confused, scared... but not ashamed - and she did not argue.

A few days later, Anna was getting ready to leave, loading up the cart that would carry her there, wondering when or whether she would see her home again, lifting a suitcase of her clothes, only to have the weight of it taken from her by broad hands she recognised.

"Thanks, Kristoff," she said, turning to look into his kind, brown eyes.

"No problem! So it's true, then. You're leaving."

Anna nodded, seeing all sorts of emotions in his gaze. He glanced at the curve of her stomach.

"And that's true, too. Look, Anna, you can tell me, who was it? Was it Hans? Did he force you?"

She calmed him with a press of her palm upon his arm. "No one forced me, Kristoff. And it wasn't Hans. You'll think I'm crazy if I tell you the truth..."

"I won't judge." He smiled, for a strong, burly man, he could be surprisingly gentle, and he put Anna at ease; besides, she knew Kristoff was not the sort of person to gossip.

She took a deep breath. "It was a woman. I met her by the fjord... I haven't... been with anybody else; she's the only one it could possibly be. Please don't tell..."

Kristoff's eyes widened and he seemed to sense her seriousness, he must have seen the way Anna bit her lip and toyed with her fingers, heard her quietness, none of her usual rambling... And though she was nervous, it felt good to share her secret with someone. Kristoff didn't let her down with his reaction.

"I believe you. I promise I won't tell a soul. If you need anything, just send for me... anytime." He looked at her stomach again. "When the baby's born, come back. I can help you..."

"There are two, actually."

Kristoff's smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "Then you'll definitely need help! Take care of yourself, Anna." He held her in his strong arms, his embrace was warm, yet something stopped Anna from enjoying it completely, something was missing... Kristoff's arms were muscular, not slender... And not what Anna wanted. She remembered  _her_  embrace... Nothing could compare to that.

"Goodbye."

* * *

By the time the leaves of the trees blushed red with autumn, Anna had settled into a new routine with Gerda and the forest. She learned the forest was a living thing. It had its own moods, and contained more mysteries than the human mind, showing a different side of itself to Anna every day. And she grew to love it, too; the wind in the treetops, the moss on the trunks, flowers, birds singing in the branches, the crunch of leaves as Anna found her way around... It gave her peace.

And Gerda... Anna had never known a kinder woman. She was grey-haired, gentle and knew everything about everything.

"Yes, there are definitely two!" she had said, just by looking at Anna not long after they met, knowing Anna's body better than she did herself. And she cooked the best food Anna had ever tasted. She would always give Anna extra and say, "You're eating for three, dear!"

Gerda was right, of course; Anna needed as much energy as she could get. She could feel those two lives inside her with a deep inner sense. But she could not feel the babies move or kick as they should. And even though everything else felt fine, that made Anna scared. She wished more than ever for the woman who had somehow put these babies inside her; whoever she was,  _she_  would know what was happening.

To calm herself and seem normal to Gerda, Anna lied and said the babies kicked, and Gerda seemed to believe her. She obeyed all of the old woman's advice: avoiding some foods, eating more of others, taking care not to fall, not to run.

Life was easier here in the forest. Most days she spent sitting with Gerda, knitting or reading. Sometimes Anna would help her with baking, or in the garden, or gathering herbs and fruit from the forest. Once, they went into the village. It was on the opposite side of the fjord from Anna's own, so no one knew her, and everyone treated her with happiness and care, letting her go first in line, giving up seats, and always smiling with congratulation.

Anna felt as happy as she could be without  _her_. And yet she somehow felt closer here, with the nearness of nature and the nearness of the fjord where it all began. Yet it was a different shore, there were no swans swimming where Anna went to bathe herself, but that did not stop it from being beautiful. She saw it in sun and autumn mist. Those warm mornings when she bathed, Anna watched the sunshine on her breasts, illuminating the red hair flowing over her shoulders, longer and more luxurious than ever. She saw her thighs caressed by the sun's gold light, shifting between the forms of clouds and shining on the curve of her stomach.

The still water sometimes let Anna study her naked reflection, and when she saw it she felt beautiful, though fuller; Anna missed her slim figure, but knew it would return.

She swam there every day until winter came, and even then Anna still visited. On the first frosty morning, she walked through the silent, shimmering forest and stood, still and silent herself, on the fjord's edge, her breath a puff of grey air, evanescent as smoke. The wind ran icy fingers through her hair, and Anna shivered.

The sky released its gift, the first snow of winter. She watched it fall, wide-eyed with wonder. Flakes drifted down as soft and silent as memory, landing, gathering heavily together on Anna's lashes until she had to sweep them away. Some were large like feathers and brushed her skin as light as lover's kisses, to melt on her cheeks like the wisp of a memory; like a lock of white-gold hair falling onto Anna's face...

A sound, rhythmic and eerie, brought Anna from her thoughts: the sound of wings above. She could not see the bird through the flurry, yet heard it clearly overhead, large enough to be a swan...

The deep snow did not stop her either when it settled thickly upon the cold ground and Anna stood again, looking out over the frozen fjord, bundled up in so many layers she was round like a winter pudding. The sky was a white blanket above, the only movement and sound in the silence was her breath misting from her mouth, in front of her face, but Anna did not feel alone.

She placed both gloved hands on her stomach, sensing the presence of the children she carried, yet it wasn't the lives inside her Anna felt, it was something else. Turning, as though in a dream, Anna saw it, a she-wolf, her pale grey sleek shape in the shadows of bare birch trees, looking at Anna with blue eyes, powerful and strange. Their gazes locked for a heartbeat, then the animal padded away between the trees on silent paws. The sight lasted a moment, though she remembered it all through the winter, haunted by those eyes.

Anna spent more time inside when the cold grew too bitter and Gerda wouldn't let her go. Instead, she made things for the babies - clothes, toys, blankets - and her confidence in the future grew; she was proving herself to be a dedicated mother already.

Anna's needs grew, too, and she could only tend to them in her bed. Her hands would pass all over her body, every new curve, lingering on her larger breasts, still sensitive, imagining blue eyes staring up from between her thighs, the memories making her wet. Yet Anna did not touch inside herself from fear, only fondled her breasts, rubbed her hardened bud until she stiffened and shivered; she had to satisfy her secret wants silently, and only sighs passed Anna's lips in the quiet cottage in the night.

Midwinter quickly came and went, a day she loved dearly, but it was different with just herself and Gerda, though not a bad different. Out here, close to nature, Anna noticed the season more than she ever had, saw the darkest day, the low sun, and wondered at the beauty of the world. Her thoughts drifted ahead to next Midwinter, where she would be, how she would cope, what presents she would give her little ones...

Anna's own parents came, bringing gifts and assurance of their love, yet they only stayed for a day, and things were not the same between them, never would be again.

Even so, Anna's hope grew brighter with the days. Spring awoke. The world ripened and blossomed and swelled before Anna's eyes; flowers and leaves and birds in the trees.

Her time was close. She sat, so heavy and huge, and spoke to Gerda, waiting and comforted by the old woman's wisdom. Gerda had prepared Anna since the day she came and told her what to expect. Even before that, Anna had an idea of what was coming. She had been with her friend Rapunzel when she had her baby. It had been a messy and bloody business, but Rapunzel and her husband were so happy afterwards, and busy, too. Anna had hardly seen her friend since.

Anna knew it would be different for herself, so different, in many ways... She was alone, and wanted her lover desperately, wished every day to see her pale blonde beauty, feel her tender caresses.

And every day it was coming closer, the event that would change her life forever.

Anna's body surprised her one day, taking her breath away with tightening pains. It scared Anna more that Gerda was with her, what if something was wrong with the babies? They had not been conceived naturally... She had no idea what the birth would bring, and there was only one woman she wanted there with her to see it.

Luckily for Anna, it had been a false alarm, and the next few days were full of anxious waiting.

Gerda was out in the garden, giving Anna the chance to take a walk, to go to the fjord for a final attempt to see her lover again. Something drew her to the shore, though when she looked out on the still, blue waters, Anna saw nothing. Frustrated tears in her eyes, Anna turned to go back, and the pain came again like a bolt from the blue.

Hurrying, stumbling on weakened legs, Anna tried to get back, scared to be alone; even Gerda's company - and with it the fear of her secret being revealed - was better than none.

The way seemed longer now, her vision clouded by pain, and when Anna fell, she landed on her knees among tree roots, in a soft place like it was made for her from reeds and feathers, a place she had never seen in all her days here, though she lay in it nonetheless.

Anna knew this had been coming, yet the reality was worse than anything she could have imagined. Her body betrayed her with an agony like it was being ripped in half. She tried again to rise and walk through the forest, towards help, but her treacherous body made her stay.

Racked with another spasm, Anna let out a pained cry, echoing through the forest. The spasms were coming harder and faster now. Her body had its own plan, it seemed to know what to do, though still Anna's mind feared. She hoped she would survive for the sake of the babies, they were pieces of herself, pieces of  _her_  that they had made together...

Anna tried to shout for help and lost control, her voice could only groan, but she knew to conserve energy, and Anna knew to push. She hadn't thought it possible to hurt any more than this, and wave after wave of pain came. With them, strangely, came memories of kisses and caresses in her mind, and Anna thought how cruel it was that she had paid for her pleasure with this pain.

She did not know how long it lasted, how long she had been lying there, yet the sun was still in the sky when Anna saw what lay between her thighs. Her heart stopped, and it seemed forever that she stared, both horrified and fascinated, at two smooth, heavy white eggs. They were warm to the touch, Anna knew she had to keep them warm. White feathers were strewn all around the nest, she piled handfuls of them round the eggs; precious and hers...

A whir of wings, the same sound she had heard in the winter, came behind, closer, slower, landing. Anna turned.

A swan, beautiful and familiar, folded its noble white wings. Was it this bird's nest in which she lay? Anna did not move, and the bird came up to her. She had to shield her eyes when light surrounded its figure, blindingly bright, and the next thing Anna saw made her heart beat loud and fast in her weary body.

The woman standing there was the most beautiful person Anna had ever seen. More beautiful, seeing her for the second time: those blue eyes, her snow-white skin, hair of lightest gold... The loveliest woman in existence. It was  _her_.

Her lover was beauty in its quintessence with her lustrous hair, allure in her curves and the sway of her hips as she stepped closer. Even now Anna felt a faint desire stir... The woman's red lips were smiling, almost shyly.

To behold her... after  _everything_ , she had left Anna, abandoned her, and Anna was a mess of feelings inside; confusion, anger, forgiveness, gladness...

"Who are you?" she managed to ask, her voice raw. "What did you do to me? Wait... you're the swan, and the she-wolf. I can tell. But - "

The other woman interrupted, hesitantly. "You're right."

Her  _voice..._  Anna had only heard her sigh and moan all those months ago, and now to hear her speaking words... Anna's anger melted with every sound she made.

"I gave you my gift and my love because you're worthy, Anna, and I love you." She knelt down beside Anna, looking right into her eyes, and she couldn't look away, not even to blink.

"My name is Elsa," she continued. "You wouldn't understand my powers, Anna. I'm not from your world. Do you... Do you regret it?"

Anna thought it all through deeply. She had given her body willingly to this woman, to Elsa. But she had not known, had not been told what that would entail... And what it had entailed had been a surprise, but not a completely unpleasant one... And there was Elsa's beauty, her magic all around; Anna could feel it in the air, a certain sweetness. With it, the familiar feeling of  _completion_  now Elsa was here. She had accepted Elsa's gift and given Elsa the gift of her body and her love in return, though something in Elsa's eyes said she could undo it all at Anna's word, and there was a worry there, a fear...

"No," Anna said. "I don't regret it at all."

Elsa smiled, and oh, how Anna wanted to touch her, to assure herself that this was real, not another dream. Elsa's words helped her realise it was, and brought relief, a relief to Anna that she was loved, even after everything.

"I only left to make sure you were strong enough... But I watched you all the time, I watched until you were ready."

She leaned closer then, her eyes becoming all that Anna could see, and in their blue depths, Anna could see that Elsa still wanted her. And she could feel it in her kiss, a passionate pressing of lips that made Anna's whole body flutter and all her fading pain subside.

Slender white fingers undressed her gently, undoing her blouse without a hunger, without the desire to make love, only to show love, and in her tenderness Elsa seemed to know that Anna was still sore.

Her breasts were revealed, round and swollen, milk now leaking from their tips, yet Elsa admired them. Their eyes met, hers showing pure joy reaching them from her smile, and Anna felt a matching smile rise to her own lips.

The softest sound made their heads turn, blonde and red hair flowing with their movements. It came from the eggs, now hatching. Lifting the white shells off, Anna could see inside were two human babies, both girls, pink and perfect, identical with ginger-gold hair; she could hear their little breaths, see their tiny fingers. Their mothers held them, taking one each into their arms where they curled up, skin to skin.

Anna couldn't speak, she was simply too overawed with wonder. She knew to love those little lives, to give them all she had. She saw Elsa looking at their daughters with tears and the same love in her eyes, so happy. Her hand reached out to stroke the hair of the baby Anna held, a touch of welcome.

The four of them remained in that happiness forever, Elsa, Anna and their daughters, the four of them all in joy, divinity and love; a family.


	21. Theogony

A universe comes into being. From chaos, darkness, two sparks shine; but there cannot be darkness without light, just as there cannot be Elsa without Anna...

Glowing amidst the emptiness are two celestial sister-goddesses. Their lights shine gold and copper, they tessellate, take forms: the bodies of two beautiful women. Love, blood and magic bind them. The sisters know each other inside and out, both know what will make her sister happy, what will make her heart soar with joy.

Elsa gives Anna a gift, sprung from an idea, a power, an expansion of elements. She makes the sun, the moon and the sky, inspired by Anna's beauty, by the  _fervour_  of her spirit, and the stars by her freckles. She crafts oceans and forests for two of the many colours she finds in Anna's eyes, fire for the colour of her hair. Elsa gives it all to her sister, laying it out for her to see, this nascent earth.

Anna gives gifts back, following her sister's lead she adds to the wonders of Elsa's work. Taking her inspiration from the sight at her side, the loveliness of Elsa, she fashions glaciers and fjords for the deep blue of her eyes, pure white tundra for her flawless skin. She shows her sister what she has made, giving it all to Elsa when she sees her look of gratitude, a gratitude she feels equally herself.

They come together to kiss, and kisses turn to touches... sensual and sweet... Yet they part, joining in another way; Elsa and Anna come together to complete their creation.

Touching the new land instead, each recreates from memory her sister's form in nature. Hills fill their hands, like the curves of breasts, and valleys below, rivers the wetness far beneath. And deeper still, caves: secret and dark, but as well-known and well-beloved to the goddesses as her sister's core... The petals of flowers, the secret insides of fruit, exquisitely shaped to mimic the sweet beauty of a goddess' body.

They raise seasons above, to stabilise and shape their world, to keep it balanced. Two seasons truly, the summer ruled by Anna, the winter ruled by Elsa, the two in between shared by them both, one flowing smoothly into the other, joining and lingering like the parting touch of a hand.

Elsa and Anna are never parted. They wander through their lands, though except for the sisters it is empty, only the two of them to appreciate the plants and flowers, the landscapes they have made, only them to explore and play in their world... Anna and Elsa know what they need to do.

When winter makes life dormant, the heavenly sisters bring company to share their creations.

Creatures mysterious and mundane, animals and beasts they shape from snow together, breathing life into their forms, letting them go, setting them free to dwell and flourish in harmony and equilibrium.

The final, most perfect being they build together, shaping and crafting, silently planning the future of this, their masterpiece, who will create in turn, changing the whole of their world to fit its needs. With a warm embrace - Elsa and Anna's arms both wrapping around the figure, their hands meeting and caressing each other - their love begets its life, and countless companions to settle their world.

Time passes and Anna and Elsa benevolently watch over their creations, see them multiply and populate the whole planet. Over thousands of years they watch and guide in kindness, though the time to them goes by both as quickly as a heartbeat and as slowly as an aeon, since the sisters see the whole of it, since the sisters created time itself.

They descend in human form on occasion, viewing their creations closely, yet always returning to the heavens above, the heavens of each other, but soon Elsa and Anna decide to live incarnate, wishing to know, to feel, to test how true their love is for each other, to experience it in its many forms; their curiosity as insatiable and as powerful as their Divine abilities and their love for one another.

They choose the first of their innumerable lives together, knowing they will face suffering, separation and pain, inflicted on them both by others and themselves, something unknown in their spirit forms. Yet Anna and Elsa also know that True Love will save them every time, the strongest, most beautiful force that binds their immortal souls together.

Together, the sisters view their lives, see them like a many-sided crystal, expanding, contracting, multiplying with belief, showing a multitude of fractals of those lives. Emotions, moments, glimpses, unforgettable scenes from their future existences, in a myriad of times and places, shimmering and shifting like the Northern Lights...

Now it is time to say goodbye before they go to truly experience them, and despite the sadness in the sisters' Divine hearts, Elsa and Anna know they will not be apart for long.

Elsa looks at her sister, and Anna looks back, the last time they will do so as goddesses, at least for a while. She embraces Anna so their soft bodies press together, mingling their immortal breaths, their tender breasts, freckled and snow-white flesh. Elsa strokes Anna's red tresses, and Anna strokes Elsa's blonde hair, the strands between her fingers feather-soft behind her back.

The sisters' lips meet, Anna yielding when Elsa deepens their kiss, warm, wet mouths caressing, immortal hearts fluttering, their Divine souls quiver. They are ready, ready to descend and live in their creation together.

* * *

Elsa opens her new blue infant eyes and gazes into the faces of her first parents: a King and Queen, she will be well cared for and loved. She grows, and so does the magic within her; whether a gift or a curse will be for Elsa herself to decide, and she is too young to understand just yet.

She prospers. But there cannot be Elsa without Anna, and she only truly begins to live when her sister takes her first breath three years later, and Elsa is aware instinctively in her child's mind that the most important person in her life has joined her at last.

Gently she places a soft kiss on the fine ginger hairs of her baby sister's head. "I love you, Anna," she whispers.

Years go by. So much has changed, yet not that love.

Elsa runs a hand in wonder over Anna's hips, her waist, her breasts, her face; her sister, now a woman like herself. And Elsa can  _touch_  her, after all those years of waiting, of keeping things inside. Now there is no fear between them, only love and passion and  _trust_ , such as Elsa never dreamed she'd know again.

They lie naked, studying the subtle differences between themselves: their skin in shades of pink and white, their hair, their freckles, the shapes of their faces and fingers, though in their features, the same expression of delight.

Elsa leans closer, to breathe in Anna's scent - sweet as it ever was when they were younger - and watches the way Anna keeps her gaze fixed on her, as if her sister would vanish were she to remove it. She knows Anna feels the same, that they are happier than words can express, absorbed in mutual joy. Anna who has taught her to feel again... The sister Elsa cherishes, the sister who adores her unconditionally; Elsa's pounding heart compels her to tell her feelings. "I love you, Anna."

Anna grins. She has her sister back, the sister she loves in every way, and who she now knows has loved her all along, free to express it now. Elsa leans in after she speaks in her soft, velvet voice, and Anna wants to kiss her, Elsa's lips are perfect... Deep red, shining and slightly parted... Kissing Elsa is better than eating chocolate, better than dancing in the Great Hall, and it thrills Anna more than anything, even the first time she rode her sled down a hillside.

"I love you, Elsa," Anna says, and kisses her sister's lips. Those two actions will be repeated, re-lived infinite times, in infinite places, in Anna and Elsa's infinite lives together. Elsa loves Anna, Anna loves Elsa, together they will live through uncountable changes, but those two facts stay the same, forever.


End file.
